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/.////  ///■  Mum  <:■.  American  Governors 


MEM  OIKS  !;/'.[; 


AMERICAN    GOVERNORS 


BY  JACOB  BAILEY  MOORE, 


VOL.    I 


WASHINGTON  i 

PUBLISHED  FOB.  THE  SUBSCRIBERS. 

1846. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1846, 
BY    JACOB    BAILEY    MOORE, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of   the   District  of  Columbia. 


PREFACE. 

The  writer  of  these  pages  has  formed  the  design  of 
preparing  for  publication.  Memoirs  of  American 
Governors — embracing  those  who  have  successively 
held  the  high  office  of  Chief  Magistrate,  in  the  sever- 
al Colonies,  which  now  form  the  United  States;  to 
to  be  followed  by  Memoirs  of  the  Governors  of  the  sev- 
eral States.  The  intelligent  reader  has  perhaps  felt  the 
want  of  such  a  work.  Our  best  Biographical  Dictiona- 
ries contain  but  meagre  sketches  of  a  few  of  those  pub- 
lic men,  who  have  been  distinguished  as  Governors ; 
while  of  others,  who  were  renowned  in  their  day,  and 
exercised  an  important  influence  upon  the  times  in  which 
they  lived,  no  account  whatever  is  to  be  found. 

To  supply  an  obvious  want,  as  far  as  it  may  be  practi- 
cable now  to  do,  is  the  object  of  the  present  undertaking. 
The  task  is  a  very  laborious  and  difficult  one,  but  with 
proper  diligence,  and  public  encouragement,  it  may  be 
accomplished.  It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  author  to 
make  his  work  full  in  details,  precise  in  facts,  and,  as  far 
as  possible,  accurate  and  reliable  as  a  book  of  reference. 
Authorities  have  been  carefully  scanned;  and,  to  avoid 
the  errors  of  copyists,  as  well  as  to  reconcile  conflicting 
dates,  originals  have  been  consulted,  whenever  they 

i  4>  O  tj  O 


IV  PREFACE. 

could  be  found.  References  to  printed  authorities,  where 
not  otherwise  specified,  are  generally  to  original  editions. 
Anachronisms  are  believed  to  be  best  avoided,  in  history, 
by  adhering  to  dates  as  originally  written;  and  this 
course  has  been  adopted  in  the  present  work.  Every  in- 
telligent reader  understands  the  difference  between  the 
Julian  and  the  Gregorian  year,  or  the  Old  and  New 
Style,  and  can  readily  make  his  own  computation. 

The  general  plan  of  the  work  will  be  seen  at  a  glance. 
In  order  that  each  volume  may  be  complete  in  itself, — 
embracing  the  Governors  of  two  or  more  of  the  Colo- 
nies, or  States,  in  regular  succession, — a  chronological 
arrangement  has  been  adopted;  and  for  the  conven- 
ience of  the  reader,  a  full  and  particular  Index  to  all 
the  names,  places  and  events,  mentioned  in  the  work,  is 
added- 

The  author  has  been  kindly  and  even  liberally  assisted 
by  numerous  individuals,  to  whom  he  has  applied  for  in- 
formation. Years  ago,  when  he  first  commenced  the  col- 
lection of  materials  for  this  work,  the  rich  stores  preserved 
in  the  archives  at  Plymouth,  Boston,"  and  Worcester, 
were  freely  opened  to  him.  He  has  since  derived  much 
assistance  from  an  examination  of  the  books  and  manu- 
scripts of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  of  the  Con- 
gress  Library,  and  in  particular  of  the  valuable  library 
of  Peter  Force,  Esq.,  of  Washington  City,  whose  col- 
lection of  manuscripts  and  books,  in  the  department  of 
American  History,  is  unsurpassed  in  this  country, 

Sepiem&er,   1846. 


CONTENTS. 


PART    I. 

Governors  of  New  Plymouth,  from  the  Landing 
of  the  Pilgrims,  in  1620,  to  the  Union  of  the 
Colony  with  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  1692: 

I.    *JOHN  CARVER, First  chosen  in  1620, Page  11 

II.    *WILLIAM  BRADFORD, 1621 49 

III.  *EDWARD  WINSLOW, 1633, 93 

IV.  THOMAS  PRENCE, 1634, 139 

V.  JOSIAS  WINSLOW, 1673, 175 

VI,      THOMAS  HINCKLEY, 1680, 201 

PART    II. 

Governors  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  from  the  first 
settlement  of  the  Colony,  in  1630,  to  the  ex- 
pulsion of  Andros,  in  1689 : 

I.     *  JOHN  WINTHROP,  .  .  .  First  chosen  in  1630, Page  237 

II.      THOMAS  DUDLEY, 1634, 273 

III.  JOHN  HAYNES, 1635, 297 

IV.  HENRY  VANE, 1636, 313 

V.       RICHARD  BELLINGHAM, 1641, 335 

VI.  JOHN  ENDECOTT, 1644, 347 

VII.  JOHN  LEVERETT, 1673 367 

VIII.  SIMON  BRADSTREET, 1679, 377 

IX.  JOSEPH  DUDLEY, appointed  in  1686, 390 

X.  EDMUND  ANDROS, 1687, 403 

*  From  Original  Sketches  by  Dr.  Belknap,  with  additions  and  corrections. 


Succession  of  Governors  of  the   Colonies  of   New   Plymouth   and   Mas- 
sachusetts Bay,  from  1620  to  1692. 


A.  D. 

Reigns. 

New  Plymouth. 

Massachusetts  Bay. 

1620 

James  I. 

John  Carver. 

1621 

it 

William  Bradford. 

1625 

Charles  I. 

(C 

1630 

a 

Cf 

John  Winthrop. 

1633 

tc 

Edward  Winslow. 

ci 

1634 

" 

Thomas  Prence. 

Thomas  Dudley. 

1635 

" 

William  Bradford. 

John  Haynes. 

1636 

(< 

Edward  Winslow. 

Henry  Vane. 

1637 

it 

William  Bradford. 

John  Winthrop. 

1638 

11 

Thomas  Prence. 

(< 

1639 

11 

William  Bradford. 

ii 

1640 

(( 

a 

Thomas  Dudley. 

1641 

<( 

a 

Richard  Bellingham. 

1642 

(( 

a 

John  Winthrop. 

1644 

11 

Edward  Winslow. 

John  Endecott. 

1645 

11 

William  Bradford. 

Thomas  Dudley. 

1646 
1648 

ti 
it 

John  Winthrop. 
it 

1649 

Commonwealth. 

(C 

John  Endecott. 

1650 

tt 

(« 

Thomas  Dudley. 

1651 

ft 

11 

John  Endecott. 

1653 

Oliver  Cromwell. 

It 

it 

1654 

tt 

If 

Richard  Bellingham. 

1655 

it 

(1 

John  Endecott. 

1657 

a 

Thomas  Prence. 

it 

1658 

Richard  Cromwell. 

tt 

it 

1660 

Charles  II. 

(c 

ft 

1665 

a 

a 

Richard  Bellingham. 

1673 

ft 

Josias  Winslow. 

John  Leverett. 

1679 

it 

(c 

Simon  Bradstreet. 

.1680 

a 

Thomas  Hinckley. 

u 

1685 

James  II. 

tt 

ff 

1686 

tt 

E( 

Joseph  Dudley. 

1687 

tt 

Edmund  Andros. 

Edmund  Andros. 

1688 

" 

a 

f  i 

1689 

William  IIL 

Thomas  Hinckley. 

Simon  Bradstreet. 

1690 

a 

u 

tt 

1691 

ft 

* 

1692 

New  Plymouth  united  i 

vith  Massachusetts  Bay. 

PART    I 


GOVERNORS  OP  NEW  PLYMOUTH 


1620—1692. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


At  the  time  of  the  death  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  in  1603,  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  years  after  the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus, 
no  nation  except  the  Spanish  had  effected  a  settlement  in  the  New 
World ;  and  in  all  the  continent  north  of  Mexico,  not  a  single 
European  family  was  to  be  found.  The  French,  in  1606,  began 
to  make  settlements  in  Canada  and  Acadie,  and  Spanish  soldiers 
were  stationed  at  several  posts  in  Florida.  Twenty  years  had 
elapsed  since  the  first  fruitless  attempt  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  to 
establish  a  colony  in  Virginia,  and  not  an  Englishman  was  now 
to  be  found  in  that  country,  and  the  grant  to  Raleigh  had  become 
void,  in  consequence  of  his  attainder. 

In  1606,  King  James  I.,  by  an  ordinance  dated  the  10th  of 
April,  divided  all  that  portion  of  North  America,  which  is  embrac- 
ed within  the  34th  and  45th  degrees  of  latitude,  into  two  districts. 
The  Southern,  called  the  First  Colony,  he  granted  to  the  London 
Company;  and  the  Northern,  or  Second  Colony,  he  granted  to 
the  Plymouth  Company.  The  general  superintendence  of  the 
Colonies  was  vested  in  a  Council,  resident  in  England,  named  by 
the  King,  and  subject  to  all  orders  and  decrees  under  his  sign 
manual ;  and  the  local  jurisdiction  was  entrusted  to  a  Council, 
also  named  by  the  King,  and  subject  to  his  instructions,  which 
was  to  reside  in  the  colonies.  Under  these  auspices  commenced, 
in  1607,  the  first  permanent  settlement  of  Virginia. 

On  the  third  of  November,  1620,  forty  noblemen,  knights,  and 
gentlemen  of  England,  were  incorporated  by  King  James,  under 
the  name  and  style  of  "  The  Council  established  at  Plymouth,  in 
the  county  of  Devon,  for  the  planting,  ruling  and  governing  New 
England  in  America."  At  the  head  of  this  corporation  was  the 
2 


10  INTRODUCTORY    NOTE. 

Earl  of  Warwick.  The  territory  subjected  to  its  jurisdiction,  ex- 
tended in  breadth  from  the  40th  to  the  48th  degree  of  north  lati- 
tude, and  in  length  from  sea  to  sea — comprising  all  the  present 
inhabited  British  possessions  north  of  the  United  States,  all  New 
England  and  New  York,  half  of  New  Jersey,  nearly  the  whole  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  whole  of  the  country  west  of  these  states  to 
the  Pacific  ocean.  Absolute  property  in  this  vast  domain  was  con- 
ferred upon  the  corporation,  and  full  powers  of  government  were 
conceded,  subject  to  the  royal  will.  This  patent  is  the  basis  of 
all  the  subsequent  grants  in  New  England. 

Before  this  charter  had  passed  the  seals,  the  Pilgrims  were  on 
their  way  to  America.  They  had  obtained  permission  from  the 
London  Company  to  settle  within  their  limits.  Their  intention 
was  to  found  their  settlement  upon  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  but, 
after  a  perilous  voyage,  they  arrived  at  Cape  Cod,  in  the  42d  de- 
gree of  north  latitude,  beyond  the  limits  of  the  grant  to  the  Lon- 
don Company.  It  was  too  late  in  the  season  to  retrace  their  steps, 
and  they  resolved,  therefore,  as  they  were  without  authority  from 
the  Plymouth  Company,  to  establish  for  themselves  a  form  of 
government,  which  was  done  by  a  written  instrument  subscribed  on 
the  11th  November,  1620,  in  the  cabin  of  the  Mayflower. 

Such  was  the  beginning  of  the  Colony  of  New  Plymouth. 
Of  the  persecutions  which  drove  the  Puritans  from  England,  and 
led  them  afterwards  to  seek  an  asylum  in  the  New  World,  and  of 
the  perils  which  they  encountered,  upon  the  ocean  and  upon  the 
land,  ample  accounts  are  given  in  the  sketches  which  follow. 


GOVERNORS  OF  NEW  PLYMOUTH 


I.     JOHN  CARVER. 

The  first  effectual  settlements  of  the  English  in  New 
England,  were  made  by  those,  who,  after  the  Reforma- 
tion, dissented  from  the  Established  Episcopal  Church, 
who  were  persecuted  on  account  of  their  dissent,  and 
sought  an  asylum  from  their  sufferings.  Uniformity  was 
insisted  on  with  a  rigor  that  disgusted  many  conscientious 
ministers  and  people  of  the  Church  of  England,  and 
caused  that  separation,  which  has  ever  since  existed. 
Religious  persons,  who  could  not  conform  to  the  estab- 
lishment, but  taught  the  necessity  of  a  more  complete 
and  personal  reformation,  were  at  first  distinguished  by 
the  name  of  Puritans — a  name  which  they  never  dis- 
owned, though  it  was  given  in  derision.  Among  these, 
the  most  rigid  were  the  Brownists,  so  called  from  Robert 
Brown,  "  a  fiery  young  clergyman,"  who  in  1580-1586, 
headed  a  zealous  party,  and  was  vehement  for  a  total 
separation.  But  his  zeal,  though  violent,  as  is  often  the 
case  with  zealots,  was  not  of  a  temper  to  resist  persecu- 
tion, and  in  advanced  life,  he  accepted  a  living  offered 
by  the  Church  he  had  reviled ;  while  others,  who  more 
deliberately  withdrew,  retained  their  separation,  though 
they  became  more  candid  and  moderate  in  their  princi- 
ples.*    Of  these  people,  a  congregation  was   formed 

*Neal'sN.  E.  i.  58,  64. 


12  JOHN    CARVER. 

about  the  year  1602,  near  the  confines  of  the  counties  of 
Fork,  Nottingham,  and  Lincoln,  in  England,  who  chose 
for,  their  ministers,  Richard  Clifton  and  John  Robinson.* 
The  reigning  prince  at  that  time  was  James  the  First, 
than  whom  a  more  contemptible  character  never  sat  on 
the  British  throne.  Educated  in  the  principles  of  Pres- 
byterianism  in  Scotland,  he  forgot  them  all  on  his  ad- 
vancement to  the  throne  of  the  three  kingdoms.  Flat- 
tered by  the  bishops,  he  gave  all  ecclesiastical  power  into 
their  hands,  and  entrusted  sycophants  with  the  manage- 
ment of  the  state,  while  he  indolently  resigned  himself 
to  literary  and  sensual  indulgences;  in  the  former  of 
which  he  was  a  pedant,  in  the  latter  an  epicure.  The 
prosecution  of  the  Puritans  was  conducted  with  unre- 
lenting severity  in  the  former  part  of  his  reign,  when 
Bancroft  was  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  Abbot,  who 
succeeded  him,  was  more  favorable  to  them ;  but  when 
Laud  came  into  power,  they  were  treated  with  every 
mark  of  insult  and  cruelty.  Robinson's  little  congrega- 
tion did  not  escape  persecution,  by  quietly  separating 
from  the  establishment,  and  forming  an  independent 
church.  They  were  still  exposed  to  the  penalties  of  the 
ecclesiastical  law.  They  were  harrassed  with  every 
species  of  intolerance ;  some  were  thrown  into  prison ; 
some  were  confined  to  their  own  houses ;  and  others 
were  obliged  to  leave  their  farms,  and  suspend  their 
usual  occupations.!  Such  was  their  distress  and  per- 
plexity, that  an  emigration  to  some  foreign  country, 
seemed  at  length  the  only  means  of  personal  safety. 
Their  first  views  were  directed  to  Holland,  where  the 

*  Prince,  i.  4,  20.     t  See  the  history  of  Puritan  sufferings  in  Neal,  and  autho- 
rities there  cited,  or  the  graphic  account  in  Bancroft,  i.  288 — 290. 


JOHN    CARVER.  13 

spirit  of  commerce  had  dictated  a  free  toleration  of  reli- 
gious opinions ;  a  blessing  which  neither  the  wisdom  of 
politicians  nor  the  charity  of  clergymen  had  admitted 
into  any  other  of  the  European  states.  Mr.  Robinson, 
and  as  many  of  his  congregation  as  found  it  in  their 
power,  accordingly  left  England  in  the  years  1607  and 
1608,  and  settled  in  Amsterdam ;  whence,  in  1609,  they 
removed  to  Leyden. 

John  Carver,  one  of  the  most  grave  and  honored  of 
the  Pilgrims,  and  first  governor  of  the  colony  of  New 
Plymouth,  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  native  of  Lincoln- 
shire, England,  where  families  of  the  name  were  known 
to  exist ;  and  he  is  represented  to  have  been  one  of  the 
deacons  of  the  English  Congregational  Church  at  Ley- 
den. Of  his  family,  or  personal  history,  prior  to  his 
connection  with  the  Pilgrims,  little  is  known.  The  record 
of  the  time  and  place  of  his  birth,  is  nowhere  found. 
The  earliest  account  of  him  known  to  exist,  refers  to  his 
appointment  as  one  of  the  agents  of  the  Leyden  Church. 
At  that  time,  he  was  in  high  esteem  as  a  grave,  pious, 
prudent  and  judicious  man.  The  correspondence,  be- 
tween Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  Treasurer  of  the  Virginia 
Company,  and  the  Rev.  John  Robinson,  pastor  of  the 
Pilgrim  Church,  and  a  letter  from  the  latter  to  Mr. 
Carver,  preserved  in  Governor  Bradford's  History,  shew 
that  he  was  a  person  of  consideration  and  character  as  a 
philanthropist  and  christian.  "  I  hope,"  said  Mr.  Robin- 
son, in  his  parting  address  to  Carver,  "  that  you,  having 
always  been  able  so  plentifully  to  administer  comfort  unto 
others  in  their  trials,  are  so  well  furnished  for  yourself, 
as  that  far  greater  difficulties  than  you  have  yet  under- 
gone (though  I  conceive  them  to  be  great  enough)  cannot 


14  JOHN    CARVER. 

oppress  you,  though  they  press  you,  as  the  Apostle 
speaketh.  cThe  spirit  of  a  man  (sustained  by  the  Spirit 
of  God)  will  sustain  his  infirmity.'  I  doubt  not  so  will 
yours ;  and  the  better  much,  when  you  shall  enjoy  the 
presence  and  help  of  so  many  goodly  and  wise  brethren, 
for  the  bearing  of  part  of  your  burden ;  who  also  will 
not  admit  into  their  hearts  the  least  thoughts  of  suspicion 
of  any  the  least  negligence,  at  least  presumption  to  have 
been  in  you,  whatever  they  think  in  others."  Carver 
was  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  Pilgrims,  and  the  circum- 
stance that  he  was  selected  by  Robinson  as  the  individual 
to  whom  to  address  his  parting  letter,  shows  that  he  was 
a  leading  and  trusted  man.* 

After  residing  several  years  in  Ley  den,  various  causes 
influenced  the  congregation  to  entertain  serious  thoughts 
of  a  removal  to  America.  These  causes  were  the  un- 
healthiness  of  the  low  country  where  they  lived;  the 
hard  labor  to  which  they  were  subjected;  the  dissipated 
manners  of  the  Hollanders ;  especially  the  lax  observance 
of  the  Lord's  Day;f  the  apprehension  of  a  war  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  truce  between  Spain  and  Holland,  which 
was  then  near  its  close ;  the  fear,  lest  their  young  men 
would  enter  into  the  military  and  naval  service ;  the  ten- 
dency of  their  little  community  to  become  absorbed 
and  lost  in  a  foreign  nation ;  their  desire  to  live  under 
the  protection  of  England,  and  to  retain  the  language 
and  the  name  of  Englishmen;    their  inability  to  give 

*  Young's  Chronicles,  90. 

t  Sir  Dudley  Carleton,  writing  from  the  Hague,  July  22, 1619,  says,  "  It  falls 
out  in  these  towns  of  Holland,  that  Sunday,  which  is  elsewhere  the  day  of  rest, 
proves  the  day  of  labour,  for  they  never  knew  yet  how  to  observe  the  Sabbath." 
This  violation  of  the  Sabbath  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Synod  of  Dort, 
which  assembled  in  1618. 


JOHN    CARVER.  15 

their  children  such  an  education  as  they  had  themselves 
received ;  the  natural  and  pious  desire  of  perpetuating  a 
church,,  which  they  believed  to  be  constituted  after  the 
simple  and  pure  model  of  the  primitive  church  of  Christ ; 
and  a  commendable  zeal  to  propagate  the  gospel  in  the 
regions  of  the  New  World. 

In  1617,  having  concluded  to  go  to  Virginia,  and  settle 
in  a  distinct  body  under  the  general  government  of  that 
colony,  they  sent  Mr.  Robert  Cushman,  and  Mr.  John 
Carver,  to  England,  to  treat  with  the  Virginia  Com- 
pany, and  ascertain  whether  the  King  would  grant  them 
liberty  of  conscience  in  that  distant  country.  Though 
these  agents  found  the  Virginia  Company  very  desirous 
of  the  projected  settlement  in  their  American  territory, 
and  willing  to  grant  them  a  patent,  with  as  ample  priv- 
ileges as  they  had  power  to  convey;  yet  they  could 
prevail  with  the  King  no  farther,  than  to  engage  that  he 
would  connive  at  them,  and  not  molest  them,  provided 
they  would  conduct  peaceably.  Toleration  in  religious 
liberty  by  public  authority,  under  his  seal,  was  denied.  * 

The  business  of  the  agency  was  for  a  long  time  de- 
layed, by  discontents  and  factions  in  the  company  of 
Virginia,  by  the  removal  of  their  former  treasurer,  Sir 
Thomas  Smith,  and  the  enmity  between  him  and  Sir 
Edwin  Sandys,  his  successor.!     At  length  a  patent  was 

*  Holmes,  Am.  Ann.  i.  158. 

t  Sir  Edwin  Sandys  was  the  son  of  Archbishop  Sandys,  and  the  pupil  of 
Hooker.  Hume  says  that  in  Parliament  he  was  "  a  member  of  great  authority  ;" 
and,  for  taking  the  popular  side  in  1614,  was  committed  to  the  Tower.  He  suc- 
ceeded Sir  Thomas  Smith,  as  Treasurer  of  the  Virginia  Company,  on  the  2Sth 
of  April,  1610.  His  election  was  brought  about  by  the  Earl  of  Warwick's  hos- 
tility to  Smith.  The  historians  of  Virginia  say  that  he  was  a  person  of  excel- 
lent endowments,  great  vigor  and  resolution.  King  James  disliked  him,  on 
account  of  his  liberal  principles,  and  when  the  year  came  round,  he  objected  to 


16  JOHN    CARVER. 

obtained  under  the  company's  seal ;  but,  by  the  advice  of 
some  friends,  it  was  taken  in  the  name  of  John  Wincob, 
a  religious  gentleman  belonging  to  the  family  of  the 
Countess  of  Lincoln,  who  intended  to  accompany  the  ad- 
venturers to  America.*  This  patent,  and  the  proposals 
of  Thomas  Weston,  of  London,  merchant,  and  other  per- 
sons who  appeared  friendly  to  the  design,  were  carried 
to  Leyden,  in  the  autumn  of  1619,  for  the  consideration 
of  the  people.  At  the  same  time,  there  was  a  plan 
forming  for  a  new  council  in  the  west  of  England,  to 
superintend  the  plantation  and  fishery  of  North  Virginia, 
the  name  of  which  was  changed  to  JY^w  England.  To 
this  expected  establishment  Weston  and  the  other  mer- 
chants began  to  incline,  chiefly  from  the  hope  of  present 
gain  by  the  fishery.  This  caused  some  embarrassment, 
and  a  variety  of  opinions ;  but,  considering  that  the  coun- 
cil for  New  England  was  not  yet  incorporated,  and  that, 
if  they  should  wait  for  that  event,  they  might  be  detained 
another  year,  before  which  time  the  war  between  the 
Dutch  and  the  Spaniards  might  be  renewed,!  the  ma- 
jority concluded  to  take  the  patent,  which  had  been  ob- 
tained from  the  company  of  South  Virginia,  and  emigrate 
to  some  place  near  Hudson's  River,  which  was  within 
their  territory. 

his  re-appointment  as  Treasurer.  "  Choose  the  devil,  if  you  will,  (said  he)  but 
not  Sir  Edwin  Sandys." 

*  Wincob  never  came  to  America;  and  all  that  is  known  of  him  is  that  he 
was  never  of  the  least  service  to  those  who  had  obtained  the  patent  at  such  toil 
and  cost.  Bancroft,  i.  305.  The  precise  date  of  the  patent  is  nowhere  men- 
tioned. Young,  in  his  Chronicles,  75,  gives  the  probable  reason  why  the  patent 
was  taken  in  the  name  of  Wincob,  that  the  Leyden  people  being  out  of  the 
realm,  the  patent  would  not  be  granted  in  any  of  their  names. 

t  The  truce,  which,  after  a  war  of  above  thirty  years,  was  concluded  between 
Spain  and  the  United  Netherlands  in  1609,  was  to  expire  by  its  own  limitation 
in  1621. 


JOHN    CARVER.  17 

The  next  spring,  ( 1 620, )  Weston  himself  went  over  to 
Leyden,  where  the  people  entered  into  articles  of  agree- 
ment with  him,  both  for  shipping  and  money,  to  assist  in 
their  transportation.  Carver  and  Cushman  were  again 
sent  to  London,  to  receive  the  money  and  provide  for  the 
voyage.  When  they  came  there,  they  found  the  other 
merchants  so  very  penurious  and  severe,  that  they  were 
obliged  to  consent  to  some  alteration  in  the  articles,  which, 
though  not  relished  by  their  constituents,  yet  were  so 
strongly  insisted  on,  that  without  them  the  whole  adven- 
ture must  have  been  frustrated. 

The  articles,  with  their  amendments,  were  these  :* 

"  1.  The  adventurers  and  planters  do  agree  that  every 
person  that  goeth,  being  sixteen  years  old  and  upward, 
be  rated  at  ten  pounds,  and  that  ten  pounds  be  accounted 
a  single  share." 

"  2.  That  he  that  goeth  in  person,  and  furnisheth  him- 
self out  with  ten  pounds,  either  in  money  or  other  pro- 
visions, be  accounted  as  having  twenty  pounds  in  stock, 
and  in  the  division  shall  receive  a  double  share." 

"  3.  The  persons  transported  and  the  adventurers  shall 
continue  their  joint  stock  and  partnership  the  space  of 
seven  years,  except  some  unexpected  impediments  do 
cause  the  whole  company  to  agree  otherwise,  during 
which  time  all  profits  and  benefits  that  are  gotten  by 
trade,  traffic,  trucking,  working,  fishing,  or  any  other 
means,  of  any  other  person  or  persons,  shall  remain  still 
in  the  common  stock,  until  the  division." 

"  4.  That  at  their  coming  there  they  shall  choose 
out  such  a  number  of  fit  persons  as  may  furnish  their 
ships  and  boats  for  fishing  upon  the  sea,  employing  the 

*  Hubbard's  N.  E.  48.— Hazard's  Hist.  Coll.  i.  87. 

3 


18  JOHN    CARVER. 

rest  in  their  several  faculties  upon  the  land,  as  building 
houses,  tilling  and  planting  the  land,  and  making  such 
commodities  as  shall  be  most  useful  for  the  colony." 

"  5.  That  at  the  end  of  the  seven  years  the  capital  and 
profits,  viz.,  the  houses,  lands,  goods,  and  chattels,  be 
equally  divided  among  the  adventurers ;  if  any  debt  or 
detriment  concerning  this  adventure" * 

"  6.  Whosoever  cometh  to  the  colony  hereafter,  or 
putteth  any  thing  into  the  stock,  shall  at  the  end  of  the 
seven  years  be  allowed  proportionally  to  the  time  of  his 
so  doing." 

"  7.  He  that  shall  carry  his  wife,  or  children,  or 
servants,  shall  be  allowed  for  every  person  now  aged  six- 
teen years  and  upwards,  a  single  share  in  the  division ;  or, 
if  he  provide  them  necessaries,  a  double  share;  or,  if 
they  be  between  ten  years  old  and  sixteen,  then  two  of 
them  to  be  reckoned  for  a  person,  both  in  transportation 
and  division." 

"  8.  That  such  children  as  now  go,  and  are  under  ten 
years  of  age,  have  no  other  share  in  the  division  than 
fifty  acres  of  unmanured  land." 

"9.  That  such  persons  as  die  before  the  seven  years 
be  expired,  their  executors  to  have  their  parts  or  shares 
at  the  division,  proportionally  to  the  time  of  their  life  in 
the  colony." 

"  10.  That  all  such  persons  as  are  of  the  colony  are  to 
have  meat,  drink,  and  apparel  out  of  the  common  stock 
and  goods  of  the  said  colony." 

The  difference  between  the  articles  as  first  agreed 
upon,  and  as  finally  concluded,  was  in  these  two  points : 

1 .  In  the  former,  it  was  provided  that  "  the  houses 

*  Here  something  seems  to  be  wanting,  which  cannot  now  be  supplied, 


JOHN    CARVER.  19 

and  lands  improved,  especially  gardens  and  home-fields, 
should  remain  undivided  wholly  to  the  planters  at  the 
end  of  the  seven  years,"  but  in  the  latter,  the  houses  and 
lands  were  to  be  equally  divided.  2.  In  the  former,  the 
planters  were  "  allowed  two  days  in  the  week  for  their 
own  private  employment,  for  the  comfort  of  themselves 
and  families,  especially  such  as  had  them  to  take  care 
for."     In  the  latter,  this  article  was  wholly  omitted. 

On  these  hard  conditions,  and  with  this  small  encour- 
agement, the  pilgrims  of  Leyden,  supported  by  a  pious 
confidence  in  the  Supreme  Disposer,  and  animated  by  a 
fortitude  resulting  from  the  steady  principles  of  the  reli- 
gion which  they  professed,  determined  to  cast  themselves 
on  the  care  of  Divine  Providence,  and  embark  for  Amer- 
ica.    With  the  proceeds  of  their  own  estates,  now  put 
into  a  common  stock,  and  the  assistance  of  the  merchants, 
to  whom  they  had  mortgaged  their  labour  and  trade  for 
seven  years,  two  vessels  were  provided.     One,  in  Hol- 
land, of  sixty  tons,  called  the  Speedwell,  commanded  by 
a  Captain  Reynolds,  which  was  intended  to  transport 
some  of  them  to  America,  and  there  to  remain  in  their 
service  one  year,  for  fishing  and  other  uses.     Another, 
of  one  hundred  and  eighty  tons,  called  the  Mayflower, 
was  chartered  by  Mr.  Cushman,  in  London,  and  sent 
round  to  Southampton,  in  Hampshire,  whither  Mr.  Car- 
ver went  to  superintend  her  equipment.     This  vessel 
was  commanded  by  a  Captain  Jones,  and,  after  discharg- 
ing her  passengers  in  America,  was  to  return  to  Eng- 
land.    Seven  hundred  pounds  sterling  were  expended 
in  provisions  and  stores,  and  other  necessary  prepara- 
tions, and  the  value  of  the  trading  venture  which  they  car- 


20  JOHN    CARVER. 

ried  was  seventeen  hundred  pounds.  Mr.  Weston  came 
from  London  to  Southampton,  to  see  them  despatched.* 

The  Speedwell,  with  the  passengers,  having  arrived 
there  from  Leyden,  and  the  necessary  officers  being 
chosen  to  govern  the  people  and  take  care  of  the  provi- 
sions and  stores  on  the  voyage,  both  ships,  carrying  one 
hundred  and  twenty  passengers,  sailed  from  Southamp- 
ton on  the  fifth  day  of  August,  1620.f 

They  had  not  sailed  many  leagues  down  the  channel 
before  Reynolds,  master  of  the  Speedwell,  complained 
that  his  vessel  was  too  leaky  to  proceed. J  Both  ships 
then  put  in  at  Dartmouth,  where  the  Speedwell  was 
searched  and  repaired;  and  the  workmen  judged  her 
sufficient  for  the  voyage.     On  the  twenty  first  of  August, 

*  Weston  continued  to  be  an  active  promoter  of  the  New  Plymouth  settlement 
until  1622.  He  then  procured  a  patent,  and  commenced  a  plantation  of  his 
own  at  a  place  called  Wessagussett,  (Weymouth,)  in  Massachusetts.  Winslow 
says,  Weston  "formerly  deserved  well  of  us;"  and  Bradford,  in  1623,  says  he 
"  has  become  our  enemy  on  all  occasions."  Weston  was  at  New  Plymouth,  in 
1623,  where  he  was  liberally  assisted ;  visited  that  place  again  in  1624,  and  from 
thence  went  to  Virginia.  He  died  at  Bristol,  England,  during  the  civil  wars. 
Prince,  135,  144. 

t  At  the  quay  at  Delfthaven,  a  multitude  of  people  assembled,  to  witness 
the  embarkation  of  the  first  company  destined  to  people  the  New  World,  and 
to  unite  their  sympathies  and  prayers  for  the  safety  and  prosperity  of  the  little 
band.  At  the  moment  of  their  going  on  board,  Mr.  Robinson  fell  on  his  knees, 
and  with  eyes  overflowing  with  tears,  in  a  most  fervent  and  solemn  prayer, 
committed  them  to  their  Divine  Protector. 

"  The  winds  and  waves  are  roaring : 
The  Pilgrims  meet  for  prayer  ; 
And  here,  their  God  adoring, 
They  kneel  in  open  air." 

Mr.  Robinson  never  came  to  New  England.  He  remained  at  Leyden  until 
his  death,  which  took  place  on  the  first  of  March,  1625,  in  the  56th  year  of  his 
age.  His  widow  and  children  afterwards  came  to  New  Plymouth,  where  his 
descendants  are  still  found.  At  his  death,  the  church  over  which  he  presided, 
and  which  his  talents  contributed  to  illustrate,  was  dissolved,  some  of  its  mem- 
bers remaining  in  Holland,  others  removing  to  America.  Thacher,  15.— Bay- 
lies, i.  24. 

t  Prince,  71.— Morton,  10. 


JOHN    CARVER.  21 

they  put  to  sea  again,  and,  having  sailed  in  company 
about  one  hundred  leagues,  Reynolds  renewed  his  com- 
plaints against  his  ship,  declaring  that,  by  constant  pump- 
ing, he  could  scarcely  keep  her  above  water,  on  which 
both  ships  again  put  back  to  Plymouth.  Another  search 
was  made,  and,  no  defect  appearing,  the  leaky  condi- 
tion of  the  ship  was  judged  to  be  owing  to  her  general 
weakness,  and  she  was  pronounced  unfit  for  the  voyage. 
About  twenty  of  the  passengers  went  on  shore.  The 
others,  with  their  provisions,  were  received  on  board  the 
Mayflower,  and  on  the  sixth  of  September,  the  company, 
consisting  of  one  hundred  and  one  passengers,  (besides 
the  ship's  officers  and  crew,)  took  their  last  leave  of 
England,  having  consumed  a  whole  month  in  these  vexa- 
tious and  expensive  delays. 

The  true  causes  of  these  mis-adventures  did  not  then 
appear.  One  was,  that  the  Speedwell  was  overmasted, 
which  error  being  remedied,  the  vessel  afterward  made 
several  safe  and  profitable  voyages.  But  the  principal 
cause  was  the  deceit  of  the  master  and  crew,  who,  having 
engaged  to  remain  a  whole  year  in  the  service  of  the 
colony,  and  apprehending  hard  fare  in  that  employment, 
were  glad  of  any  excuse  to  rid  themselves  of  the  service. 

The  Mayflower,  Jones,  proceeded  with  fair  winds  in 
the  former  part  of  her  voyage,  and  then  met  with  bad 
weather  and  contrary  winds,  so  that  for  several  days  no 
sail  could  be  carried.  The  ship  labored  so  much  in  the 
sea  that  one  of  the  main  beams  sprung,  which  renewed 
the  fears  and  distresses  of  the  passengers.  They  had 
then  made  about  one  half  of  their  voyage,  and  the  chief 
of  the  company  began  a  consultation  with  the  comman- 
der of  the  ship  whether  it  were  better  to  proceed  or  re- 
/ 


22  JOHN    CARVER. 

turn.  But  one  of  the  passengers  having  on  board  a 
large  iron  screw,  it  was  applied  to  the  beam,  and  forced 
it  into  its  place.  This  successful  effort  determined  them 
to  proceed. 

No  other  particulars  of  this  long  and  tedious  voyage 
are  preserved,  but  that  the  ship  being  leaky,  and  the 
people  closely  stowed,  were  continually  wet;  that  one 
young  man,  a  servant  of  Samuel  Fuller,  died  at  sea;  and 
that  one  child  was  born,  and  called  Oceanus — a  son  of 
Stephen  Hopkins. 

On  the  ninth  of  November,  at  break  of  day,  they 
made  land,  which  proved  to  be  the  white  sandy  cliffs  of 
Cape  Cod.*  This  landfall  being  farther  northward  than 
they  intended,  they  immediately  put  about  the  ship  to 
the  southward,  and  before  noon  found  themselves  among 
shoals  and  breakers. f  Had  they  pursued  their  southern 
course,  as  the  weather  was  fine,  they  might  in  a  few 
hours  more,  have  found  an  opening,  and  passed  safely  to 
the  westward,  agreeably  to  their  original  design,  which 
was  to  go  to  Hudson's  River.  But,  having  been  so  long 
at  sea,  the  sight  of  any  land  was  welcome  to  women  and 

*  Cape  Cod  was  discovered,  15th  May,  1602,  by  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  an 
English  navigator,  who  gave  it  the  name,  on  account  of  the  abundance  of  cod, 
which  he  caught  in  the  neighborhood.  It  was  afterwards  called  Cape  James, 
by  Smith.  John  Brereton,  who  was  one  of  the  companions  of  Gosnold,  and 
wrote  a  journal  of  the  voyage,  says,  "  they  first  made  land  May  14,  in  lat.  40 
degrees  " — and  "  about  three  of  the  clock  the  same  day  in  the  afternoon,  we 
weighed,  and  standing  southerly  off"  into  the  sea  the  rest  of  that  day  and  the 
night  following,  with  a  fresh  gale  of  wind,  in  the  morning  we  found  ourselves 
embayed  with  a  mighty  headland.  At  length  we  perceived  this  headland  to  be 
a  parcel  of  the  main.  In  five  or  six  hours  we  pestered  our  ship  so  with  codfish, 
that  we  threw  numbers  of  them  over  again.  The  places  where  we  took  these 
cods,  (and  might  in  a  few  days  laden  our  ship,)  were  but  in  seven  fathoms  wa- 
ter."— Brereton's  Account  of  Gosnold's  Voyage,  III  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  viii.  86. 

t  These  shoals  lie  to  the  southeast  extremity  of  the  Cape,  which  was  called 
by  Gosnold  Point  Care,  by  the  Dutch  and  French  Malebarre,  and  is  now  known 
by  the  name  of  Sandy  Point. 


JOHN    CARVER.  23 

children ;  the  new  danger  was  formidable ;  and  the  ea- 
gerness of  the  passengers  to  be  set  on  shore  was  irresis- 
tible. These  circumstances,  coinciding  with  the  secret 
views  of  the  master,  who  had  been  promised  a  reward  by 
some  agents  of  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  if  he 
would  not  carry  them  to  Hudson's  River,  induced  him 
to  put  about  to  the  northward.*  Before  night  the  ship 
was  clear  of  the  danger.  The  next  day  they  doubled 
the  northern  extremity  of  the  cape,  (Race  Point,)  and,  a 
storm  coming  on,  the  ship  was  brought  to  anchor  in 
Cape  Cod  harbour,  where  she  lay  perfectly  secure  from 
winds  and  shoals. 

This  harbour,  being  in  the  forty  second  degree  of 
north  latitude,  was  without  the  territory  of  the  South 
Virginia  Company.  The  charter  which  these  emigrants 
had  brought  with  them  of  course  became  useless.  Some 
symptoms  of  faction,  at  the  same  time,  appearing  among 

*  Of  this  plot  between  Jones  and  the  Dutch,  Secretary  Morton  says  he  had 
certain  intelligence.  Memorial,  12.  Nearly  all  the  historians  have  adopted 
without  question  the  account  of  this  affair  given  by  Morton.  Robertson  and 
Bozman  speak  of  it  as  a  rumor;  but  the  first  doubt  expressed  of  the  truth  of 
this  account  is  in  Moulton's  unfinished  History  of  New  York.  Moulton  is  fol- 
lowed by  others,  who  consider  the  silence  of  Bradford  and  Winslow  as  to  this 
plot,  conclusive  against  the  representation  given  by  Morton.  Young's  Chroni- 
cles, 102.  But  there  are  also  circumstances  which  go  to  sustain  the  generally 
received  account.  It  is  known  that  the  Pilgrims  intended  to  settle  near  the 
Hudson.  Their  patent  did  not  authorize  them  to  settle  beyond  the  40th  parallel 
of  latitude.  They  knew  that  North  Virginia,  or  New  England,  had  been  de- 
scribed by  Smith  and  others,  as  "a  cold,  barren,  mountainous,  rocky  desart," 
"  uninhabitable  by  Englishmen."  They  could  not  have  been  indifferent  as  to  the 
coast  upon  which  they  were  to  land  ;  and  when  they  found  themselves  at  Cape 
Cod,  they  desired  to  return  towards  the  South,  but  were  prevented  by  the  im- 
portunities of  a  portion  of  their  number.  It  is  well  known,  that  the  Dutch 
West  India  Company  objected  to  English  settlements  on  the  Hudson,  and 
would  very  naturally  seek  to  prevent  them.  Until  further  light  therefore  is 
thrown  upon  the  subject,  the  account  given  by  Morton  should  not  be  hastily 
rejected,  sustained  as  it  is  by  his  own  declaration  that  he  had  "  certain  intelli- 
gence" of  the  fact. 


24  JOHN    CARVER. 

the  servants,  who  had  been  received  on  board  in  Eng- 
land, purporting  that  when  on  shore  they  should  be 
under  no  government,  and  that  one  man  would  be  as 
good  as  another,  it  was  thought  proper,  by  the  most  judi- 
cious persons,  to  have  recourse  to  natural  law ;  and  that, 
before  disembarcation,  they  should  enter  into  an  associa- 
tion, and  combine  themselves  in  a  political  body,  to  be 
governed  by  the  majority.*     To  this  they  consented: 

*  In  Mourt's  Relation,  (I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  viii.  205,)  is  the  following  and 
earliest  account  of  the  origin  of  this  Compact :  "  This  day,  before  we  are  come 
to  harbor,  observing  some  not  well  affected  to  unity  and  concord,  but  gave  some 
appearance  of  faction,  it  was  thought  good  there  should  be  an  association  and 
agreement,  that  we  should  combine  together  in  one  body,  and  to  submit  to 

SUCH   GOVERNMENT  AND   GOVERNORS,  AS   WE  SHOULD  BY  COMMON   CONSENT  AGREE 

to  make  and  ciioose."  A  late  writer  questions  the  high  motives  usually  at- 
tributed to  the  pilgrims  in  adopting  this  compact.  He  supposes  that  it  was 
adopted  to  secure  for  the  time  the  power  of  the  orderly  over  the  evil  disposed, 
without  any  foresight  of  the  vast  political  importance  of  the  principles  which 
it  established.  Hubbard's  edit.  Belknap's  Biog.  ii.  306.  However  this  may 
have  been,  it  is  still  beyond  dispute,  that  the  brief  and  comprehensive  instru- 
ment subscribed  in  the  cabin  of  the  Mayflower,  established  a  principle,  which 
is  the  foundation  of  all  the  democratic  institutions  in  America — the  principle 
that  the  will  of  the  majority  shall  govern.  The  proofs  that  these  men  were 
sincere  in  their  professions,  and  that  civil  as  well  as  religious  liberty,  was  an 
object  dear  to  their  hearts,  would  seem  to  be  conclusive,  if  we  admit  the  testi- 
mony of  their  own  lives,  and  the  concurrent  statements  of  Mourt,  Winslow, 
Bradford,  and  Morton.  So  evidently  thought  King  James,  when,  in  1604,  the 
Puritans  desired  permission  to  assemble  and  to  be  allowed  freedom  of  discus- 
sion. "You  are  aiming  at  a  Scot's  presbytery,  (said  he,)  which  agrees  with 
monarchy  as  well  as  God  with  the  devil ! — /  will  have  none  of  that  liberty  as  to 
ceremonies."  So  thought  the  Commons  of  England,  who  favored  the  Puritans 
as  their  natural  allies  in  the  struggle  against  despotism — when  the  lines  were 
distinctly  drawn — the  established  Church  and  the  Monarch  on  one  side,  and  the 
Puritan  clergy  and  the  People  on  the  other.  Neal,  ii.  52.  Bancroft,  i.  298. 
The  declaration  of  Robinson  and  Brewster,  in  their  letter  to  Sir  Edwin  Sandys, 
of  Dec.  15,  1617,  is  in  exact  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  compact  on  board 
the  Mayflower  :  "  We  are  knit  together  as  a  Body,  in  a  most  strict  and  sacred 
Bond  and  Covenant  of  the  Lord ;  of  the  violation  whereof  we  make  great  con- 
science, and  by  virtue  whereof,  we  hold  ourselves  straitly  tied  to  all  care  of 
each  other's  good,  and  of  the  whole."  Bradford,  in  Prince,  52.  If  further 
proof  were  wanting  of  the  design  of  the  pilgrims  to  establish  independence,  it 
may  be  found  in  that  memorable  Declaration,  drawn  up  by  the  Associates  at 


JOHN    CARVER.  25 

and,  after  solemn  prayer  and  thanksgiving,  a  written  in- 
strument being  drawn,  they  subscribed  it  with*  their  own 
hands,  and  by  a  unanimous  vote  chose  John  Carver 
their  governor  for  one  year. 

The  instrument  was  conceived  in  these  terms : 
"In  the  name  of  God,  Amen.  We,  whose  Names 
are  underwritten,  the  Loyal  Subjects  of  our  dread  Sove- 
reign Lord,  King  James,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  of  Great 
Britain,  France,  and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of  the 
Faith,  &c,  Having  undertaken,  for  the  Glory  of  God 
and  advancement  of  the  Christian  Faith,  and  Honour  of 
our  King  and  country,  a  Voyage,  to  Plant  the  first  Colony 
in  the  Northern  Parts  of  Virginia;  Do,  by  these  Presents, 
solemnly  and  mutually,  in  the  Presence  of  God,  and  of 
one  another,  Covenant  and  Combine  ourselves  together 
unto  a  Civil  body  Politick,  for  our  better  Ordering  and 
Preservation,  and  Furtherance  of  the  Ends  aforesaid; 
and,  by  Virtue  hereof,  to  enact,  constitute,  and  frame 
such  just  and  equal  Laws,  Ordinances,  Acts,  Constitu- 
tions, and  Offices,  from  Time  to  Time,  as  shall  be  thought 
most  meet  and  convenient  for  the  General  Good  of  the 
Colony ;  unto  which  we  Promise  all  due  Submission  and 
Obedience.  In  witness  whereof,  we  have  hereunder 
subscribed  our  Names,  at  Cape  Cod,  the  eleventh  of  No- 
vember, in  the  year  of  the  Reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lord, 
King  James,  of  England,  France,  and  Ireland,  the  Eigh- 
teenth, and  of  Scotland  the  Fifty-Fourth,  Anno  Domini, 
1620." 

[The  names  of  the  subscribers  are  placed  in  the  fol- 

New  Plymouth,  and  entered  upon  their  records,  on  the  15th  November,  1636, 
in  which  the  authority  of  English  laws,  "at  present,  or  to  come,"  is  expressly 
renounced,  and  Parliament  denied  the  right  of  legislating  for  the  Colony.  See 
Hazard,  i.  408. 

4 


26 


JOHN    CARVER. 


lowing  order,  by  Secretary  Morton ;  but  Prince,  with  his 
usual  accuracy,  compared  the  list  with  Governor  Brad- 
ford's History,  and  added  their  titles,  and  the  number  of 
each  one's  family  which  came  over  at  this  time;  observ- 
ing that  some  left  the  whole,  and  others  a  part,  of  their 
families,  either  in  England  or  Holland,  who  came  over 
afterward.  He  was  also  so  curious  as  to  note  those  who 
brought  their  wives,  marked  with  a  (f ),  and  those  who 
died  before  the  end  of  the  next  March,  distinguished  by 
an  asterism  (*).] 


1.  Mr.  John  Carver,t 

2.  Mr.  William  Bradford, t 

3.  Mr.  Edward  Winslow,t 

4.  Mr.  William  Brewster,t 

5.  Mr.  Isaac  Allerton,t 

6.  Capt.  Miles  Standish,t 

7.  John  Alden, 

8.  Mr.  Samuel  Fuller, 

9.  *Mr.  Christopher  Martin,* 

10.  *Mr.  William  Mullins,t 

11.  "Mr.  William  White, t  [1] 
1.2.  Mr.  Richard  Warren, 

13.  John  Howland,  [2] 

14.  Mr.  Stephen  Hopkins, t 

15.  "Edward  Tilly,t 

16.  *John  Tilly,t 

17.  Francis  Cook, 

18.  *Thomas  Roge'rs, 

19.  *Thomas  Tinker,t 

20.  *John  Ridgdale,t 

21.  *Edward  Fuller,! 

22.  *John  Turner, 


23.  Francis  Eaton,t  3 

24.  *  James  Chilton,  t  3 

25.  *John  Crackston,  [3]  2 

26.  John  Billington,t 

27.  *Moses  Fletcher, 

28.  "John  Goodman, 

29.  *Degory  Priest,  [4] 

30.  *Thomas  Williams, 

31.  Gilbert  Winslow, 

32.  "Edmund  Margeson, 

33.  Peter  Brown, 

34.  "Richard  Britterige, 

35.  George  Soule,  [5] 

36.  "Richard  Clarke, 

37.  Richard  Gardiner, 

38.  "John  Allerton, 

39.  "Thomas  English, 

40.  Edward  Dotey,  [6] 

41.  Edward  Leister,  [6] 

Total  persons,  .  .  .  101 


Of  whom  were  subscribers  to  the  Compact,  ...  41 

[1]  Besides  a  son,  born  in  Cape  Cod  Harbor,  named  Peregrine.    See  page  31. 

[2]  Of  Governor  Carver's  family. 

[3]  Morton  writes  his  name  Craxton. 

[4]  In  Morton,  Digery  Priest. 

[5]  Of  Governor  Winslow's  family. 

[6]  Of  Mr.  Hopkins'  family. 

Government  being  thus  regularly  established,  on  a 
truly  republican  principle,  sixteen  armed  men  were  sent 


JOHN    CARVER. 


27 


on  shore,  as  soon  as  the  weather  would  permit,  to  fetch 
wood  and  make  discoveries.*  They  returned  at  night 
with  a  boat  load  of  juniper  wood,  and  made  report  "that 
they  found  the  land  to  be  a  narrow  neck,  having  the  har- 
bour on  one  side,  and  the  ocean  on  the  other ;  that  the 
ground  consisted  of  sandhills,  like  the  Downs  in  Holland ; 
that  in  some  places  the  soil  was  black  earth  <a  spit's 
depth;'  that  the  trees  were  oak,  pine,  sassafras,  juniper, 
birch,  holly,  ash,  and  walnut ;  that  the  forest  was  open 
and  without  underwood ;  that  no  inhabitants,  houses,  nor 
fresh  water  were  to  be  seen."  This  account  was  as 
much  as  could  be  collected  in  one  Saturday's  afternoon. 
The  next  day  they  rested. 

While  they  lay  in  this  harbour,  during  the  space  of 
five  weeks,  they  saw  great  flocks  of  seafowl  and  whales 
every  day  playing  about  them.  The  master  and  mate, 
who  had  been  acquainted  with  the  fisheries  in  the  north- 
ern seas  of  Europe,  supposed  that  they  might  in  that 
time  have  made  oil  to  the  value  of  three  or  four  thousand 
pounds.  It  was  too  late  in  the  season  for  cod ;  and, 
indeed,  they  caught  none  but  small  fish  near  the  shore, 
and  shellfish.  The  margin  of  the  sea  was  so  shallow, 
that  they  were  obliged  to  wade  ashore,  and  the  weather 
being  severe,  many  of  them  took  colds  and  coughs,  which 
in  the  course  of  the  winter  proved  mortal. 

On  Monday,  the  thirteenth  of  November,  the  women 
went  ashore  under  a  guard  to  wash  their  clothes,  and  the 
men  were  impatient  for  a  farther  discovery.  The  shal- 
lop, which  had  been  cut  down  and  stowed  between 
decks,  needed  repairing,  in  which  seventeen  days  were 
employed.     While  this  was  doing,  they  proposed  that 

*  Mourt's  Relation,  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  viii.  206. 


28  JOHN    CARVER. 

excursions  might  be  made  on  foot.  Much  caution  was 
necessary  in  an  enterprise  of  this  kind,  in  a  new  and 
savage  country.  After  consultation  and  preparation,  six- 
teen men  were  equipped  with  musket  and  ammunition, 
sword  and  corslet,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Miles 
Standish,*  who  had  William  Bradford,  Stephen  Hopkins,f 
and  Edward  Tilly|  for  his  council  of  war.  After  many 
instructions  given,  they  were  rather  permitted  than  or- 
dered to  go,  and  the  time  of  their  absence  was  limited  to 
two  days. 

When  they  had  travelled  one  mile  by  the  shore,  they 
discovered  five  or  six  of  the  natives,  who,  on  sight  of 
them,  fled.  They  attempted  to  pursue,  and,  lighting  on 
their  tracks,  followed  them  till  night;  but  the  thickets 
through  which  they  had  to  pass,  the  weight  of  their  ar- 
mour, and  their  debility  after  a  long  voyage,  made  them 
an  unequal  match,  in  point  of  travelling,  to  these  nimble 
sons  of  nature.  They  rested  at  length  by  a  spring,  which 
afforded  them  the  first  refreshing  draught  of  American 
water.  § 

The  discoveries  made  in  this  march  were  few,  but 
novel  and  amusing.     In  one  place  they  found  a  deer  trap, 

*  This  intrepid  soldier  was  the  hero  of  New  England,  as  John  Smith  was  of 
Virginia.  An  excellent  account  of  him  is  found  in  Belknap's  Biography,  ii. 
310. 

t  Stephen  Hopkins  was  one  of  the  assistants,  or  magistrates,  of  the  colony, 
from  1633  to  1636.  Stephen  Hopkins,  governor  of  Rhode  Island  nine  years 
from  1755  to  1767,  and  one  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
was  a  descendant  of  Stephen  Hopkins  of  the  Mayflower.     Farmer's  Geneal. 

$  Edward  Tilly  died  early  in  1621 .  Farmer's  Geneal.  The  exploring  party 
here  referred  to  sat  out  on  Wednesday,  November  15.     Prince,  74. 

§  Mourt  represents  the  spring  to  have  been  found  on  the  second  day,  and 
adds,  "  we  brought  neither  beer  nor  water  with  us,  and  our  only  victuals  were 
biscuit  and  Holland  cheese,  and  a  little  bottle  of  aqua  vitse,  so  as  we  were  sore 
athirst."     I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  viii.  208. 


JOHN    CARVER.  29 

made  by  the  bending  of  a  young  tree  to  the  earth,  with 
a  noose  under  ground  covered  with  acorns.     Mr.  Brad- 
ford's foot  was  caught  in  the  trap,  from  which  his  com- 
panions disengaged  him,  and  they  were  all  entertained 
with  the  ingenuity  of  the  device.     In  another  place  they 
came  to  an  Indian  burying-ground,  and  in  one  of  the 
graves  they  found  a  mortar,  an  earthen  pot,  a  bow  and 
arrows,  and  other  implements,  all  which  they  very  care- 
fully replaced,  because  they  would  not  be  guilty  of  vio- 
lating the  repositories  of  the  dead.     But  when  they 
found  a  cellar,  carefully  lined  with  bark  and  covered  with 
a  heap  of  sand,  in  which  about  four  bushels  of  seed-corn 
in  ears*  were  well  secured,  after  reasoning  on  the  mo- 
rality of  the  action,  they  took  as  much  of  the  corn  as 
they  could  carry,  intending,  when  they  should  find  the 
owners,  to  pay  them  to  their  satisfaction.     On  the  third 
day  they  arrived,  weary  and  welcome,  where  the  ship  lay, 
and  delivered  their  corn  into  the  common  store.     The 
company  resolved  to  keep  it  for  seed,  and  to  pay  the 
natives  the  full  value  when  they  should  have  opportunity. 
When  the  shallop  was  repaired  and  rigged,  twenty- 
four  of  the  company  ventured  on  a  second  excursion  to 
the  same  place,  to  make  a  farther   discovery,  having 
Captain  Jones  for  their  commander,  with  ten  of  his  sea- 
men and  the  ship's  long  boat.f     The  wind  being  high 
and  the  sea  rough,  the  shallop  came  to  anchor  under  the 
land,  while  part  of  the  company  waded  on  shore  from 
the  long  boat,  and  travelled,  as  they  supposed,  six  or 
seven  miles,  having  directed  the  shallop  to  follow  them 

*  "  Of  divers  colors,  which  seemed  to  them  a  very  goodly  sight,  having  seen 
none  before."     Morton,  16. 

t  This  party  started  on  the  27th  November.     Prince,  75. 


30  JOHN    CARVER. 

the  next  morning.  The  weather  was  very  cold,  with 
snow,  and  the  people,  having  no  shelter,  took  such  colds 
as  afterwards  proved  fatal  to  many. 

Before  noon  the  next  day,  the  shallop  took  them  on 
board,  and  sailed  to  the  place  which  they  denominated 
Cold  Harbour*  Finding  it  not  navigable  for  ships,  and, 
consequently,  not  proper  for  their  residence,  after  shoot- 
ing some  geese  and  ducks,  which  they  devoured  with 
"  soldiers'  stomachs,"  they  went  in  search  of  seed  corn. 
The  ground  was  frozen  and  covered  with  snow,  but  the 
cellars  were  known  by  heaps  of  sand,  and  the  frozen 
earth  was  penetrated  with  their  swords,  till  they  gathered 
corn  to  the  amount  of  ten  bushels.  This  fortunate  sup- 
ply, with  a  quantity  of  beans  preserved  in  the  same 
manner,  they  took  on  the  same  condition  as  before ;  and 
it  is  remarked  by  Governor  Bradford  that  in  six  months 
after  they  paid  the  owners  to  their  entire  satisfaction.! 
The  acquisition  of  this  corn  they  always  regarded  as  a 
particular  favour  of  Divine  Providence,  without  which 
the  colony  could  not  have  subsisted. 

Captain  Jones,  in  the  shallop,  went  back  to  the  ship, 
with  the  corn  and  fifteen  of  the  weakest  of  the  people, 
intending  to  send  mattocks  and  spades  the  next  day. 
The  eighteen  who  remained,  marched,  as  they  supposed, 
five  or  six  miles  into  the  woods,  and,  returning  another 

*  Prince  conjectures  this  place  to  have  been  Barnstable  Harbor.  (Page  74.) 
But  neither  the  time  nor  the  distance  can  agree  with  this  conjecture.  Barnsta- 
ble is  more  than  fifty  miles  from  Cape  Cod  Harbor  by  land,  a  distance  which 
they  could  not  have  travelled  and  back  again  in  three  short  days  of  November. 
Belknap  supposes  Cold  Harbor  to  be  the  mouth  of  Paomet  Creek,  between 
Truro  and  Welfleet,  and  the  description  given  in  Mourt's  Relation  corresponds 
with  this  idea.  Paomet  is  a  tide-harbor  for  boats,  distant  between  three  and 
four  leagues  from  the  harbor  of  Cape  Cod.     I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  iii.  196. 

t  Prince,  75. 


JOHN    CARVER.  31 

way,  discovered  a  mound  of  earth,  in  which  they  hoped 
to  find  more  corn.  On  opening  it,  nothing  appeared  but 
the  skull  of  a  man  preserved  in  red  earth,  the  skeleton 
of  an  infant,  and  such  arms,  utensils,  and  ornaments  as 
are  usually  deposited  in  Indian  graves.*  Not  far  distant 
were  two  deserted  wigwams,  with  their  furniture  and 
some  venison,  so  ill  preserved  that  even  "  soldiers' 
stomachs"  could  not  relish  it.  On  the  arrival  of  the 
shallop,  they  returned  to  the  ship  the  first  of  December. 
During  their  absence,  the  wife  of  William  White  had 
been  delivered  of  a  son,  who,  from  the  circumstances  of 
his  birth,  was  named  Peregrine. f 

At  this  time  they  held  a  consultation  respecting  their 
future  settlement. J  Some  thought  that  Cold  Harbour 
might  be  a  proper  place,  because,  though  not  deep 
enough  for  ships,  it  might  be  convenient  for  boats,  and 
because  a  valuable  fishery  for  whales  and  cods  might  be 
carried  on  there.  The  land  was  partly  cleared  of  wood, 
and  good  for  corn,  as  appeared  from  the  seed.  It  was 
also  likely  to  be  healthy  and  defensible.     But  the  prin- 

*  Mourt,  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  viii.  215. 

t  The  following  account  of  him  is  extracted  from  the  Boston  News  Letter 
of  July  31,  1704,  being  the  15th  number  of  the  first  newspaper  printed  in  New 
England  :  "  Marshfield,  July  22,  Captain  Peregrine  White,  of  this  town,  aged 
eighty-three  years  and  eight  months,  died  here  the  20th  instant.  He  was  vigor- 
ous, and  of  a  comely  aspect  to  the  last;  was  the  son  of  William  White  and 
Susanna  his  wife,  born  on  board  the  Mayflower,  Captain  Jones,  commander,  in 
Cape  Cod  Harbor,  November,  1620,  the  first  Englishman  born  in  New  England." 
William  White,  the  father,  died  at  New  Plymouth,  in  the  spring  of  1621.  His 
widow,  Susannah,  married  Edward  Winslow,  the  third  governor  of  the  colony. 
This  marriage  was  solemnized  the  12th  May,  1621.  It  is  mentioned  by  Baylies, 
as  a  singular  coincidence  that  Mrs.  White  should  have  been  the  first  mother  and 
first  bride  in  New  England,  and  mother  of  the  first  native  governor  of  the 
colony,  who  also  attained  the  high  and  solitary  honor  of  being  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  forces  of  the  confederate  Colonies,  in  a  war  involving  their  very 
existence.     Baylies,  ii.  18. 

X  Morton,  17. 


32  JOHN    CARVER. 

cipal  reasons  were,  that  the  winter  was  so  far  advanced 
as  to  prevent  coasting  and  discovery,  without  danger  of 
losing  men  and  boats ;  that  the  winds  were  variable,  and 
the  storms  sudden  and  violent ;  that,  by  cold  and  wet 
lodging,  the  people  were  much  affected  with  coughs, 
which,  if  they  should  not  soon  obtain  shelter,  would 
prove  mortal ;  that  provisions  were  daily  consuming,  and 
the  ship  must  reserve  sufficient  for  the  homeward  voy- 
age, whatever  became  of  the  colony. 

Others  thought  it  best  to  go  to  a  place  called  Aga- 
wam,*  twenty  leagues  northward,  where  they  had  heard 
of  an  excellent  harbour,  good  fishing,  and  a  better  soil  for 
planting.  To  this  it  was  answered,  that  there  might 
possibly  be  as  good  a  place  nearer  to  them.  Robert 
Coppin,  their  pilot,  who  had  been  here  before,  assured 
them  that  he  knew  of  a  good  harbour  and  a  navigable 
river,  not  more  than  eight  leagues  across  the  bay  to  the 
westward.  Upon  the  whole,  they  resolved  to  send  the 
shallop  round  the  shore  of  the  bay  on  discovery,  but  not 
beyond  the  harbour  of  which  Coppin  had  informed 
them. 

On  Wednesday,  the  sixth  of  December,  Governor 
Carver,  with  nine  of  the  principal  men,  well  armed,  and 
the  same  number  of  seamen,  of  which  Coppin  was  one, 
went  out  in  the  shallop.  The  weather  was  so  cold  that 
the  spray  of  the  sea  froze  on  their  coats,  until  they  were 
cased  with  ice,  "  like  coats  of  iron."  They  sailed  by  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  bay,  as  they  judged,  six  or  seven 
leagues,  without  finding  any  river  or  creek.  At  length 
they  saw  "  a  tongue  of  land,f  being  flat  off  from  the 

*  The  Indian  name  of  Ipswich,  Mass.     t  This  "  tongue  of  land,"  is  Billings- 
gate Point,  the  western  shore  of  Welfleet  Harbor. 


JOHN    CARVER.  33 

shore,  with  a  sandy  point;  they  bore  up  to  gain  the  point, 
and  found  there  a  fair  income,  or  road  of  a  bay,  being  a 
league  over  at  the  narrowest,  and  two  or  three  in  length ; 
but  they  made  right  over  to  the  land  before  them."  As 
they  came  near  the  shore,  they  saw  ten  or  twelve  Indians 
cutting  up  a  grampus,  who,  on  sight  of  them,  ran  away, 
carrying  pieces  of  the  fish  which  they  had  caught.  They 
landed  at  the  distance  of  a  league  or  more  from  the 
grampus  with  great  difficulty,  on  account  of  the  flat 
sands.  Here  they  built  a  barricade,  and,  placing  senti- 
nels, lay  down  to  rest. 

The  next  morning,  Thursday,  (December  7,)  they 
divided  themselves  into  two  parties,  eight  in  the  shallop, 
and  the  rest  on  shore,  to  make  farther  discovery  of  this 
place,  which  they  found  to  be  "a  bay,  without  either 
river  or  creek  coming  into  it."  They  gave  it  the  name 
of  Grampus  Bay,  because  they  saw  many  fish  of  that 
species.  They  tracked  the  Indians  on  the  sand,  and 
found  a  path  into  the  woods,  which  they  followed  a 
great  way,  till  they  came  to  old  cornfields,  and  a  spacious 
burying-ground  enclosed  with  pales.  They  ranged  the 
woods  till  the  close  of  the  day,  and  then  came  down  to  the 
shore  to  meet  the  shallop,  which  they  had  not  seen  since 
the  morning.  At  high  water,  she  put  into  a  creek ;  and, 
six  men  being  left  on  board,  two  came  on  shore  and  lodged 
with  their  companions,  under  cover  of  a  barricade  and 
a  guard. 

At  dawn  of  day,  on  Friday,  (December  8,)  while  at 
their  devotions,  they  were  surprised  with  the  war  cry  of 
the  savages,  and  a  flight  of  arrows.  Those  of  the  En- 
glish who  had  retained  their  arms,  immediately  stood  on 
the  defensive;  two  muskets  were  discharged,  and  the 
5 


34  JOHN  CARVER. 

other  men  who  were  armed  were  ordered  not  to  shoot  un- 
til they  could  take  sure  aim,  there  being  but  four  who  had 
retained  their  muskets.  The  Indians,  seeing  the  others 
run  to  the  shallop,  attacked  them  again,  but  being  secured 
by  armor  and  armed  with  curtel-axes,  they  sustained 
themselves  until  they  obtained  their  muskets  from  the 
boat — when  a  general  discharge  being  made,  the  Indians 
were  intimidated,  and  all  fled  but  one  stout  warrior,  who 
continued  to  discharge  his  arrows  from  behind  a  tree ; 
but  a  bullet  having  struck  the  tree  and  scattered  the  bark 
and  splinters  about  his  ears,  he  took  to  his  heels,  and  they 
all  fled.  The  English  pursued  them  a  short  distance 
with  shouts,  to  show  that  they  were  not  intimidated,  and 
then  returned  to  their  shallop.  Thus  terminated  the  first 
encounter  between  the  English  and  aboriginals,  without 
bloodshed  on  either  side,  and  the  place  was  named  First 
Encounter. 

This  unwelcome  reception,  and  the  shoal  water  of  the 
place,*  determined  the  company  to  seek  farther.  They 
sailed  along  the  shore  as  near  as  the  extensive  shoals 
would  permit,  but  saw  no  harbour.  The  weather  began 
to  look  threatening,  and  Coppin  assured  them  that  they 
might  reach  the  harbour  of  which  he  had  some  knowledge 
before  night.  The  wind  being  southerly,  they  put  them- 
selves before  it.f  After  some  hours,  it  began  to  rain ; 
the  storm   increasing,   their   rudder   broke,  their  mast 

*  Morton  says,  "  This  is  thought  to  be  a  place  called  Namskeket."  (Page 
19.)  A  creek,  which  now  bears  the  name  of  Shakit,  lies  between  Eastham  and 
Harwich,  distant  about  three  or  four  miles  westward  from  Nauset,  the  seat  of  a 
tribe  of  Indians,  who  (as  they  afterward  learned)  made  this  attack.  Dr.  Free- 
man, in  his  notes  on  Mourt,  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  viii.  219,  supposes  this  to  be 
Great  Meadow  Creek,  in  Truro,  Mass. 

t  The  distance  directly  across  the  bay  from  Skakit,  is  about  12  leagues;  in 
Prince,  (p.  77,)  it  is  said  they  sailed  15  leagues  "along  the  coast." 


JOHN    CARVER.  35 

sprung,  and  their  sails  fell  overboard.  In  this  piteous 
plight,  steering  with  two  oars,  the  wind  and  the  flood 
tide  carried  them  into  a  cove  full  of  breakers,  and  it  being 
dark,  they  were  in  danger  of  being  driven  on  shore. 
The  pilot  confessed  that  he  knew  not  the  place ;  but  a 
stout  seaman,  who  was  steering,  called  to  the  rowers  to 
put  about  and  row  hard.  This  effort  happily  brought 
them  out  of  the  cove  into  a  fair  sound,  and  under  a  point 
of  land,  where  they  came  safely  to  anchor.  They  were 
divided  in  their  opinions  about  going  on  shore ;  but  about 
midnight,  the  severity  of  the  cold  made  a  fire  necessary. 
They  therefore  got  on  shore,  and  with  some  difficulty 
kindled  a  fire  and  rested  in  safety. 

In  the  morning  they  found  themselves  on  a  small  un- 
inhabited island,  within  the  entrance  of  a  spacious  bay.* 
Here  they  stayed  all  the  next  day  (Saturday)  drying 
their  clothes,  cleaning  their  arms,  and  repairing,  as  well 
as  they  could,  their  shallop.  The  following  day,  being 
the  Christian  Sabbath,  they  rested.f 

*  This  island  has  ever  since  borne  the  name  of  Clark's  Island,  from  the  mate 
of  the  ship,  the  first  man  who  stepped  on  shore.  The  cove,  where  they  were  in 
danger,  lies  between  the  Gurnet  Head  and  Saguish  Point,  at  the  entrance  of 
Plymouth  Bay. 

1  This  was  the  First  Christian  Sabbath  in  New  England.  "  The  '  May- 
flower,' a  name  now  immortal,  had  crossed  the  ocean.  It  had  borne  its  hundred 
passengers  over  the  vast  deep,  and  after  a  perilous  voyage,  it  had  reached  the 
bleak  shores  of  New  England  in  the  beginning  of  winter.  The  spot  which 
was  to  furnish  a  home  and  a  burial-place,  was  now  to  be  selected.  The  shallop 
was  unshipped,  but  needed  repairs,  and  sixteen  weary  days  elapsed  before  it 
was  ready  for  service.  Amidst  ice  and  snow,  it  was  then  sent  out,  with  some 
half  a  dozen  Pilgrims,  to  find  a  suitable  place  where  to  land.  The  spray  of  the 
sea,  says  the  historian,  froze  on  them,  and  made  their  clothes  like  coats  of  iron. 
Five  days  they  wandered  about,  searching  in  vain  for  a  suitable  landing-place. 
A  storm  came  on,  the  snow  and  rain  fell ;  the  sea  swelled  ;  the  rudder  broke  ; 
the  mast  and  the  sail  fell  overboard.  In  this  storm  and  cold,  without  a  tent,  a 
house,  or  the  shelter  of  a  rock,  the  Christian  Sabbath  approached— the  day 
which  they  regarded  as  holy  unto  God— a  day  on  which  they  were  not  to  '  do 


36  JOHN    CARVER. 

On  Monday,  December  11th,  they  surveyed  and 
sounded  the  bay,  which  is  described  to  be  in  the  shape 
of  a  fishhook  ;  a  good  harbour  for  shipping,  larger  than 
that  of  Cape  Cod  ;  containing  two  small  islands  without 
inhabitants,  innumerable  store  of  fowls,  different  sorts  of 
fish,  besides  shellfish  in  abundance.  As  they  marched 
into  the  land,*  they  found  cornfields  and  brooks,  and  a 
very  good  situation  for  building. f  With  this  joyful 
news  they  returned  to  the  company,  and  on  the   16th  of 

any  work.'  What  should  be  done?  As  the  evening  before  the  Sabbath  drew 
on,  they  pushed  over  the  surf,  entered  a  fair  sound,  sheltered  themselves  under 
the  lee  of  a  rise  of  land,  kindled  a  fire,  and  on  that  island  they  spent  the  day  in 
the  solemn  worship  of  their  Maker.  On  the  next  day  their  feet  touched  the  rock 
now  sacred  as  the  place  of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims.  Nothing  more  strikingly 
marks  the  character  of  this  people,  than,  this  act.  The  whole  scene — the  cold 
winter — the  raging  sea — the  driving  storm — the  houseless,  homeless  island — 
the  families  of  wives  and  children  in  the  distance,  weary  with  their  voyage 
and  impatient  to  land — and  yet,  the  sacred  observance  of  a  day  which  they 
kept  from  principle,  and  not  from  mere  feeling,  or  because  it  was  a  form  of  reli- 
gion, shows  how  deeply  imbedded  true  religion  is  in  the  soul,  and  how  little 
it  is  affected  by  surrounding  difficulties." — [Barnes'  Discourse  at  Worcester.] 

*  The  rock  on  which  they  first  stepped  ashore  at  high  water,  is  now  enclosed 
with  a  wharf.  The  upper  part  of.it  was  separated  from  the  lower  part,  and 
drawn  into  the  public  square  of  the  town  of  Plymouth,  where  it  was  known 
by  the  name  of  The  Forefathers'  Rock.  The  22d  of  December,  (Gregorian 
style)  has  been  regarded  by  the  people  of  Plymouth  as  a  festival.  That  portion 
of  the  rock  remaining  in  the  square  at  Plymouth,  was  on  the  4th  July,  1834, 
removed  to  the  new  Pilgrim  Hall,  erected  in  Plymouth,  and  placed  in  front  of 
that  edifice,  under  the  charge  of  the  Pilgrim  Society.  A  procession  was 
formed  on  the  occasion,  and  passed  over  Cole's  Hill,  where  lie  the  ashes  of 
those  who  died  the  first  winter  at  Plymouth.  A  miniature  representation  of  the 
Mayflower  followed  in  the  procession,  placed  in  a  car  decorated  with  flow- 
ers, and  drawn  by  six  boys — the  whole  being  preceded  by  the  children  of  both 
sexes  of  the  several  schools  in  town.  The  Rock  is  now  enclosed  within  a  rail- 
ing, formed  of  wrought  iron  bars,  five  feet  high,  resting  on  a  base  of  hammered 
granite.  The  heads  of  the  perpendicular  bars  are  harpoons  and  boat  hooks  al- 
ternately— the  whole  embellished  with  emblematic  figures  of  cast  iron.  The 
upper  part  of  the  railing  is  encircled  with  a  wreath  of  iron  castings,  in  imitation 
of  heraldry  curtains,  fringed  with  festoons  ;  of  these  there  are  forty-one,  bearing 
the  names  of  the  forty-one  puritan  fathers,  who  signed  the  memorable  compact 
while  in  the  cabin  of  the  Mayflower,  at  Cape  Cod,  in  1620.     Thacher,  199, 

t  Mourt's  Relation,  in  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  viii.  220. 


JOHN    CARVER.  37 

December,  the  ship  came  to  anchor  in  the  harbour,  with 
all  the  passengers,  except  four,  who  died  at  Cape  Cod. 

Having  surveyed  the  land  as  well  as  the  season  would 
permit,  in  three  days,  they  pitched  upon  a  high  ground 
on  the  southwest  side  of  the  bay,  which  was  cleared  of 
wood,  and  had  formerly  been  planted.  Under  the  south 
side  of  it  was  "a  very  sweet  brook,  in  the  entrance  of 
which  the  shallop  and  boats  could  be  secured,  and  many 
delicate  springs  of  as  good  water  as  could  be  drank." 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  brook  was  a  cleared  field, 
and  beyond  it  a  commanding  eminence,  on  which  they 
intended  to  lay  a  platform  and  mount  their  cannon. 

They  went  immediately  to  work  laying  out  house-lots, 
and  a  street ;  felling,  sawing,  riveing,  and  carrying  timber ; 
and  before  the  end  of  December,  though  much  inter- 
rupted by  stormy  weather,  by  the  death  of  two,  and  the 
sickness  of  many  of  their  number,  they  had  erected  a 
store-house,  with  a  thatched  roof,  in  which  their  goods 
were  deposited  under  a  guard.  Two  rows  of  houses 
were  begun,  and,  as  fast  as  they  could  be  covered,*  the 
people,  who  were  classed  into  nineteen  families,  came 
ashore,  and  were  lodged  in  them.  On  Lord's  day,  the 
31st  of  December,  they  attended  Divine  service  for  the 
first  time  on  shore,  and  named  the  place  Plymouth, 
partly  because  this  harbour  was  so  called  in  Capt.  Smith's 
map,  published  three  or  four  years  before,  and  partly  in 
remembrance  of  the  very  kind  and  friendly  treatment 

*  The  first  houses  in  Plymouth  were  on  each  side  of  a  single  street,  which 
leads  from  the  old  church  to  the  water  side.  "We  agreed  that  every  man 
should  build  his  own  house,  thinking  by  that  course  men  would  make  more 
haste  than  working  in  common."  Mourt,  in  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  viii.  223.  On 
the  place  where  it  is  supposed  the  common  house  stood,  in  digging  a  cellar  in 
1801,  there  were  discovered  several  tools,  and  a  plate  of  iron,  seven  feet  below 
the  surface  of  the  ground.     Holmes,  i.  166. 


38  JOHN    CARVER. 

which  they  had  received  from  the  inhabitants  of  Ply- 
mouth, the  last  port  of  their  native  country  from  which 
they  sailed.* 

At  this  time,  some  of  the  people  lodged  on  shore,  and 
others  on  board  the  ship,  which  lay  at  the  distance  of  a 
mile  and  a  half  from  the  town,  and,  when  the  tide  was 
out,  there  could  be  no  communication  between  them. 
On  the  14th  of  January,  very  early  in  the  morning,  as 
Governor  Carver  and  Mr.  Bradford  lay  sick  in  bed  at 
the  storehouse,  the  thatched  roof,  by  means  of  a  spark, 
caught  on  fire,  and  was  soon  consumed ;  but,  by  the  timely 
assistance  of  the  people  on  shore,  the  lower  part  of  the 
building  was  preserved.  Here  were  deposited  their 
whole  stock  of  ammunition  and  several  loaded  guns;  but, 
happily,  the  fire  did  not  reach  them.  The  fire  was  seen 
by  the  people  on  board  the  ship,  who  could  not  come 

*  The  original  Indian  name  of  the  place  was  Accomack,  which  means  over 
the  water.  It  is  evident  that  Accomack  and  Plymouth  correspond;  but  when 
the  Pilgrims  arrived,  they  were  told  by  Samoset  that  the  place  was  called  Pa- 
tuxet.  See,  in  Smith's  General  History,  folio  edition,  the  Map  of  New  England 
as  "  observed  and  described  in  1614."  Smith's  "  Description  of  New  England," 
was  published  in  1616.  "  I  took  (says  he)  the  description  as  well  by  map  as 
writing,  and  called  it  New  England."  He  dedicated  his  work  to  Prince  Charles, 
begging  him  to  change  the  "barbarous  names."  In  the  list  of  Indian  names 
given  by  Smith,  which  were  changed  by  Prince  Charles,  Accomack  was 
altered  to  Plimouth.  See  Force's  Tracts,  vol.  ii.  p.  xii,  of  No.  I.  Smith,  in  his 
"  Generall  Historie,"  edition  of  1626,  page  247,  describes  "the  Present  estate 
of  New  Plimoth,  in  1624;"  and  in  his  "True  Travels,"  edition  of  1630,  page 
46,  he  speaks  of  the  condition  of  "  New  Plymouth,"  in  1629.  In  III  Mass. 
Hist.  Coll.  iii.,  Smith's  "Pathway  to  a  Plantation,"  published  in  1631,  is  re- 
printed with  a  map,  upon  which  Plimouth  appears.  The  folio  edition  of  his 
"  Generall  Historie,"  published  in  1632,  has  apparently  the  same  Map,  with 
several  corrections,  and  among  others,  the  words  "  New  Plimouth,"  for  "  Pli- 
mouth." In  a  map,  entitled  "  The  South  part  of  New  England,  as  it  is  planted 
this  year,  1634,"  inserted  in  the  first  edition  of  Wood's  New  England  Prospect, 
a  place  near  Narraghanset  Bay  is  named  Old  Plymouth;  and  in  the  same  map, 
the  Plymouth,  which  was  settled  in  1620,  is  called  New  Plymouth.  By  Old 
Plymouth,  though  not  correctly  placed  on  the  map,  was  probably  meant  the 
ephemeral  settlement  of  Gosnold,  on  Elizabeth  Island,  in  1602.  Holmes'  Ann. 
i.  119. 


JOHN    CARVER.  39 

on  shore  till  an  hour  afterwards.  They  were  greatly 
alarmed  at  the  appearance,  because  two  men,  who  had 
strolled  into  the  woods,  were  missing,  and  they  were 
apprehensive  that  the  Indians  had  made  an  attack  on  the 
place.  In  the  evening  the  strollers  found  their  way 
home,  almost  dead  with  hunger,  fatigue,  and  cold. 

The  bad  weather  and  severe  hardships  to  which  this 
company  were  exposed,  in  a  climate  much  more  rigorous 
than  any  to  which  they  had  ever  been  accustomed,  with 
the  scorbutic  habits  contracted  in  their  voyage,  and  by  liv- 
ing so  long  on  shipboard,  caused  a  great  mortality  among 
them  in  the  winter.  Before  the  month  of  April,  nearly 
one  half  of  them  died.*  At  some  times  the  number  of 
the  sick  was  so  great,  that  not  more  than  six  or  seven 
were  fit  for  duty,  and  these  were  almost  wholly  employed 
in  attending  the  sick.  The  ship's  company  was  in  the 
same  situation,  and  Captain  Jones,  though  earnestly  de- 
sirous to  get  away,  was  obliged  to  stay  till  April,  having 
lost  one  half  of  his  men. 

By  the  beginning  of  March,  the  governor  was  so  far 
recovered  of  his  first  illness,  that  he  was  able  to  walk 
three  miles  to  visit  a  large  pond,  which  Francis  Billington 
had  discovered  from  the  top  of  a  tree  on  a  hill.  At  first 
it  was  supposed  to  be  a  part  of  the  ocean,  but  it  proved 
to  be  the  headwater  of  the  brook  which  runs  by  the  town. 
It  has  ever  since  borne  the  name  of  its  first  discoverer,f 
which  might  otherwise  have  been  forgotten. 

Hitherto  they  had  not  seen  any  of  the  natives  at  this 

*  The  exact  bill  of  mortality,  as  collected  by  Prince,  is  as  follows :  In  De- 
cember, 6;  January,  8;  February,  17;  March,  13 — total,  44.  Of  these,  21 
were  subscribers  to  the  civil  compact ;  and  23  were  women,  children,  and  ser- 
vants. 

t  It  is  to  this  day  called  Billington  Sea. 


40  JOHN    CARVER. 

place.  The  mortal  pestilence  which  raged  through  the 
country  four  years  before,  had  almost  depopulated  it. 
One  remarkable  circumstance  attending  this  pestilence, 
was  not  known  till  after  the  settlement  was  made.  A 
French  ship  had  been  wrecked  on  Cape  Cod.  The 
men  were  saved  with  their  provisions  and  goods.*  The 
natives  kept  their  eye  on  them,  till  they  found  an  oppor- 
tunity to  kill  all  but  three  or  four,  and  divide  their  goods. 
The  captives  were  sent  from  one  tribe  to  another  as 
slaves.  One  of  them  learned  so  much  of  their  language 
as  to  tell  them,  that  "  God  was  angry  with  them  for  their 
cruelty,  and  would  destroy  them  and  give  their  country 
to  another  people."  They  answered,  that  "  they  were 
too  many  for  God  to  kill."  He  replied  that,  "if  they 
were  ever  so  many,  God  had  many  ways  to  kill,  of  which 
they  were  then  ignorant."  When  the  pestilence  came 
among  them,  (a  new  disease,  probably  the  yellow  fever,f ) 
they  remembered  the  Frenchman's  words,  and,  when  the 
Plymouth  settlers  arrived  at  Cape  Cod,  the  few  survivors 
imagined  that  the  other  part  of  his  prediction  would  soon 
be  accomplished.  Soon  after  their  arrival,  the  Indian 
priests  or  powows  convened,  and  performed  their  incan- 
tations in  a  dark  swamp  three  days  successively,  with  a 
view  to  curse  and  destroy  the  new  comers.  Had  they 
known  the  mortality  which  raged  amongst  them,  they 
would  have  doubtless  rejoiced  in  the  success  of  their 
endeavours,  and  might  very  easily  have  taken  advantage 

*  Morton,  27. 

t  Of  the  peculiar  nature  of  this  pestilence,  we  have  no  certain  information. 
Gookin  says  he  "had  discoursed  with  some  old  Indians  who  were  then  youths, 
who  told  him  that  the  bodies  of  the  sick  were  all  over  exceeding  yellow  (which 
they  described  by  pointing  to  a  yellow  garment)  both  before  they  died  and 
afterward."     I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  i.  148. 


JOHN    CARVER.  41 

of  their  weakness  to  exterminate  them.*  But  none  of 
them  were  seen  till  after  the  sickness  had  abated,  though 
some  tools  which  had  been  left  in  the  woods  were  miss- 
ing, which  they  had  stolen  in  the  night. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  March,  when  the  spring  was  so 
far  advanced  as  to  invite  them  to  make  their  gardens,  a 
savage  came  boldly  into  the  place  alone,  walked  through 
the  street  to  the  rendezvous  or  storehouse,  and  pro- 
nounced the  words,  Welcome,  Englishmen!  His  name 
was  Samoset;  he  belonged  to  a  place  distant  five  days' 
journey  to  the  eastward,  and  had  learned  of  the  fisher- 
men to  speak  broken  English. 

He  was  received  with  kindness  and  hospitality,  and 
he  informed  them  "  that,  by  the  late  pestilence,  and  a 
ferocious  war,  the  number  of  his  countrymen  had  been 
so  diminished,  that  not  more  than  one  in  twenty  remained ; 
that  the  spot  where  they  were  now  seated  was  called 
Patuxet,  and,  though  formerly  populous,  yet  every  human 
being  in  it  had  died  of  the  pestilence."  This  account 
was  confirmed  by  the  extent  of  the  fields,  the  number  of 
graves,  and  the  remnants  of  skeletons  lying  on  the  ground. 

The  account  which  he  gave  of  himself  was,  "  that  he 
had  been  absent  from  home  eight  moons,  part  of  the  time 
among  the  Nausets,  their  nearest  neighbours  at  the  south- 
east, who  were  about  one  hundred  strong,  and  more 
lately  among  the  Wampanoags  at  the  westward,  who 
were  about  sixty ;  that  he  had  heard  of  the  attack  made 
on  them  by  the  Nausets  at  Namskeket ;  that  these  people 

*  During  the  first  winter,  the  settlers  buried  their  dead  on  the  banks  of  the 
shore,  since  called  Cole's  hill,  near  their  own  dwellings,  taking  especial  care  by 
levelling  the  earth  to  conceal  from  the  Indians  the  number  and  frequency  of  the 
deaths.  Dr.  Holmes  mentions  a  tradition,  that  the  graves  at  that  spot,  after  the 
great  mortality  alluded  to,  were  levelled  and  sown  over  by  the  settlers,  to  conceal 
their  loss  from  the  natives.    Thacher,  28. 

6 


42  JOHN    CARVER. 

were  full  of  resentment  against  the  Europeans,  on  account 
of  the  perfidy  of  Hunt,  master  of  an  English  vessel, 
who  had  some  years  before  the  pestilence  decoyed  some 
of  the  natives  (twenty  from  Patuxet  and  seven  from 
Nauset)  on  board  his  ship,  and  sold  them  as  slaves;  that 
they  had  killed  three  English  fishermen,  besides  the 
Frenchmen  afore  mentioned,  in  revenge  for  this  affront. 
He  also  gave  information  of  the  lost  tools,  and  promised 
to  see  them  restored,  and  that  he  would  bring  the  natives 
to  trade  with  them." 

Samoset  being  dismissed  with  a  present,  returned  the 
next  day  with  five  more  of  the  natives,  bringing  the  stolen 
tools,  and  a  few  skins  for  trade.*  They  were  dismissed 
with  a  request  to  bring  more,  which  they  promised  to  do 

*  "  But,  being  the  Lord's  day,  we  would  not  trade,  but,  entertaining  them, 
bid  them  come  again."  Mourt.  The  same  author,  speaking  of  this  friendly 
sachem,  whose  salutation  of  "  Welcome  !"  must  have  been  grateful  to  the  in- 
habitants, says  he  was  naked,  "  only  a  leather  about  his  waist,  with  a  fringe 
about  a  span  long."  The  weather  was  very  cold,  and  "we  cast  a  horseman's 
coat  about  him."  "  He  had  a  bow  and  two  arrows,  the  one  headed  and  the  other 
unheaded.  He  was  a  tall  straight  man;  the  hair  of  his  head  black,  long  be- 
hind, only  short  before ;  none  on  his  face  at  all.  He  asked  some  beer,  but  we 
gave  him  strong  water  and  biscuit,  and  butter  and  cheese,  and  pudding,  and  a 
piece  of  mallard ;  all  which  he  liked  well."  Samoset's  companions,  "had 
every  man  a  deer  skin  on  him  ;  and  the  principal  of  them  had  a  wild  cat's  skin, 
or  such  like,  on  one  arm.  They  had  most  of  them  long  hosen  up  to  their 
groins,  close  made  ;  and  above  their  groins  to  their  waist,  another  leather :  they 
were  altogether  like  the  Irish  trousers.  They  are  of  complexion  like  our 
English  gipsies  ;  no  hair,  or  very  little  on  their  faces  ;  on  their  heads  long  hair 
to  their  shoulders,  only  cut  before  ;  some  trussed  up  before  with  a  feather,  broad- 
wise like  a  fan;  another  a  foxtail,  hanging  out."  The  English  had  charged  Samo- 
set not  to  let  any  who  came  with  him  bring  their  arms;  these,  therefore,  left 
"  their  bows  and  arrows  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  our  town.  We  gave  them 
entertainment  as  we  thought  was  fitting  them.  They  did  eat  liberally  of  our 
English  victuals;"  and  appeared  very  friendly ;  " sang  and  danced  after  their 
manner,  like  antics."  "  Some  of  them  had  their  faces  painted  black,  from  the 
forehead  to  the  chin,  four  or  five  fingers  broad ;  others  after  other  fashions,  as 
they  liked.  They  brought  three  or  four  skins,  but  we  would  not  truck  with 
them  all  that  day,  but  wished  them  to  bring  more,  and  we  would  truck  for  all. 
So  because  of  the  day  [Sunday]  we  dismissed  them  so  soon  as  we  could." 


JOHN    CARVER.  43 

in  a  few  days.  Samoset  feigned  himself  sick,  and  re- 
mained ;  but  as  his  companions  did  not  return  at  the  time, 
he  was  sent  to  inquire  the  reason. 

On  the  22d,  he  returned,  in  company  with  Squanto, 
or  Squantum,  a  native  of  Patuxet,  and  the  only  one  then 
living.  He  was  one  of  the  twenty  whom  Hunt  had  car- 
ried away ;  he  had  been  sold  in  Spain ;  had  lived  in  Lon- 
don with  John  Slaney,  merchant,  treasurer  of  the  New- 
foundland Company ;  had  learned  the  English  language, 
and  came  back  to  his  native  country  with  the  fishermen.* 
These  two  persons  were  deputed  by  the  sachem  of  the 
Wampanoags,  Mas-sas-o-it,^  whose  residence  was  at 
Sowams  or  Pokanoket,  on  the  Narragansett  Bay,  to  an- 

*  Thomas  Hunt,  the  first  kidnapper  and  slave-dealer  on  the  coast  of  North 
America,  commanded  one  of  the  ships,  with  which  Captain  Smith  came  to 
New  England  in  1614.  Smith  sailed  for  England  in  July,  and  left  Hunt  with 
directions  to  procure  a  cargo,  and  proceed  to  Spain.  His  atrocious  conduct  is 
thus  related  by  Prince,  from  Smith,  Mourt,  &c.  "After  Smith  left  New 
England,  Hunt  gets  twenty  Indians  on  board  him  at  Patuxet,  one  of  whom  is 
called  Squanto,  or  Squantum,  or  Tisquantum,  and  7  more  of  Nauset,  and  carried 
them  to  Malaga,  sells  them  for  slaves  at  £20  a  man,  which  raises  such  an  en- 
mity in  the  savages  against  our  nation,  as  makes  further  attempts  of  commerce 
with  them  very  dangerous."  "Smith,  generous  and  humane  as  he  was  in- 
trepid, indignantly  reprobates  the  base  conduct  of  Hunt."  Many  of  these 
helpless  captives,  it  appears,  were  rescued  from  slavery  by  the  benevolent  in- 
terposition of  some  of  the  Monks  in  Malaga.  Squanto  was  probably  one  who 
was  thus  relieved  and  liberated.  He  found  a  friend  in  Mr.  Slaney  in  England, 
by  whose  assistance  he  was  enabled  to  return  to  his  native  land,  on  board  of 
Capt.  Thomas  Dermer's  vessel  in  1619.  Thacher,  33.  Drake  supposes  that 
Squanto,  or  Tisquantum,  was  carried  away  by  Weymouth,  in  1605,  and  cites 
SirF.  Gorges,  as  his  authority.  Book  of  the  Indians,  b.  ii.  4.  The  Tasquan- 
tum  seized  by  Weymouth,  was  probably  not  among  those  who  were  kidnapped 
by  Hunt,  unless,  nine  years  having  intervened,  we  may  suppose  him  to  have 
been  twice  seized  and  carried  away. 

1  Prince  says,  that  Mas-sas-o-it,  is  a  word  of  four  syllables,  and  was  so  pro- 
nounced by  the  ancient  people  of  Plymouth  (p.  101.)  This  remark  is  confirmed 
by  the  manner  in  which  it  is  spelled  in  some  parts  of  Winslow's  Narrative,  Ma- 
sas-o-wat.  The  sachem,  in  conformity  to  a  custom  among  the  Indians,  after- 
wards changed  his  name  to  Owsaraequin,  or  Woosaraequen.  See  Drake's 
Book  of  the  Indians,  b.  ii.  25. 


44  JOHN    CARVER. 

nounce  his  coming,  and  bring  some  skins  as  a  present. 
In  about  an  hour  the  sachem,  with  his  brother  Qua-de- 
qui-nah,  and  his  whole  force  of  sixty  men,  appeared  on 
the  hill  over  against  them.  Squanto  was  sent  to  know 
his  pleasure,  and  returned  with  the  sachem's  request 
that  one  of  the  company  should  come  to  him.  Edward 
Winslow  immediately  went  alone,  carrying  a  present  in 
his  hand,  with  the  governor's  compliments,  desiring  to 
see  the  sachem,  and  enter  on  a  friendly  treaty.  Massa- 
soit  left  Winslow  in  the  custody  of  his  brother,  to  whom 
another  present  was  made,  and,  taking  twenty  of  his  men, 
unarmed,  descended  the  hill  towards  the  brook,  over 
which  lay  a  log  bridge.  Captain  Miles  Standish,  at  the 
head  of  six  men,  met  him  at  the  brook,  and  escorted 
him  and  his  train  to  one  of  the  best  houses,  where  three 
or  four  cushions  were  placed  on  a  green  rug  spread  over 
the  floor.  The  governor  came  in,  preceded  by  a  drum 
and  trumpet,  which  greatly  delighted  the  Indians.  After 
mutual  salutations,*  he  entered  into  conversation  with  the 
sachem,  which  issued  in  a  treaty.  The  articles  were,  "  1. 
That  neither  he  nor  his  should  injure  any  of  ours.  2. 
That  if  they  did,  he  should  send  the  offender,  that  we 
might  punish  him.  3.  That  if  our  tools  were  taken  away, 
he  should  restore  them.  4.  That  if  any  unjustly  warred 
against  him,  we  would  aid  him;  and  if  any  warred  against 
us,  he  should   aid  us.     5.  That  he  should   certify  his 

*  "  Our  governour  kissing  his  hand,  the  king  kissed  him,  and  so  they  sat 
down."  Mourt,  in  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  viii.  229.  On  page  230  of  the  same, 
Massasoit  is  thus  described :  "  In  his  person  he  is  a  very  lusty  man,  in  his  best 
years,  an  able  body,  grave  of  countenance,  and  sparing  of  speech ;  in  attire 
little  or  nothing  differing  from  the  rest  of  his  followers,  only  in  a  great  chain 
of  white  bone  beads  about  his  neck,  and  at  it  behind  his  neck  hangs  a  little  bag 
of  tobacco,  which  he  drank  (smoked)  and  gave  us  to  drink.  His  face  was  paint- 
ed with  a  sad  red-like  murrey,  and  oiled  both  head  and  face,  that  he  looked 
greasily.     The  king  had  in  his  bosom,  hanging  by  a  string,  a  great  long  knife." 


JOHN    CARVER.  45 

neighbour  confederates  of  this,  that  they  might  not 
wrong  us,  but  be  comprised  in  the  conditions  of  peace. 
6.  That  when  their  men  came  to  us,  they  should  leave 
their  bows  and  arrows  behind  them,  as  we- should  leave 
our  pieces,  when  we  came  to  them.  7.  That  in  doing 
thus,  King  James  would  esteem  him  as  his  friend  and 
ally." 

All  which  Massasoit  cheerfully  assented  to,  and  at 
at  the  same  time  "  acknowledged  himself  content  to 
become  the  subject  of  our  sovereign  lord  the  king  afore- 
said, his  heirs  and  successors ;  and  gave  unto  them  all  the 
lands  adjacent,  to  them  and  their  heirs  forever.'7* 

The  conference  being  ended,  and  the  company  hav- 
ing been  entertained  with  such  refreshments  as  the  place 
afforded,  the  sachem  returned  to  his  camp.  This  treaty, 
the  work  of  one  day,  being  honestly  intended  on  both 
sides,  was  kept  with  fidelity  as  long  as  Massasoit  lived, 
but  was  afterwards  broken  by  Philip,  his  successor. 

The  next  day,  Massasoit  sent  for  some  of  the  English 
to  visit  him.  Captain  Standish  and  Isaac  Allerton  went, 
were  kindly  received,  and  treated  with  groundnuts  and 
tobacco. 

The  sachem  then  returned  to  his  headquarters,  distant 
about  forty  miles ;  but  Squantum  and  Samoset  remain- 
ed at  Plymouth,  and  instructed  the  people  how  to  plant 

*  "  The  New  Plymouth  associates,  by  the  favor  of  the  Almighty,  began  the 
colony  in  New  England,  at  a  place  called  by  the  natives  Apaum,  alias  Patuxet ; 
all  the  lands  being  void  of  inhabitants,  we,  the  said  John  Carver,  William 
Bradford,  Edward  Winslow,  William  Brewster,  Isaac  Allerton,  and  the  rest  of 
our  associates,  entering  into  a  league  of  peace  with  Massasoit,  since  called 
Woosamequen,  Prince,  or  Sachem  of  those  parts,  he  the  said  Massasoit  freely 
gave  them  all  the  land  adjacent  to  them  and  their  heirs  forever."  See,  in  the 
Preface  to  the  Laws  of  New  Plymouth,  1685,  "  The  Warrantable  Grounds  and 
Proceedings  of  the  first  Associates  of  New  Plimouth,  in  their  laying  the  first 
Foundation  of  this  Government." 


46  JOHN    CARVER. 

their  corn,  and  dress  it  with  herrings,  of  which  an  im- 
mense quantity  came  into  the  brooks.  The  ground  which 
they  planted  with  corn  was  twenty  acres.  They  sowed 
six  acres  with  barley  and  pease ;  the  former  yielded  an 
indifferent  crop,  but  the  latter  were  parched  with  the 
heat,  and  came  to  nothing. 

While  they  were  engaged  in  this  labour,  in  which  all 
were  alike  employed,  on  the  5th  of  April,  (the  day  on 
which  the  Mayflower  sailed  for  England,)  Governor  Car- 
ver came  out  of  the  field  at  noon,  complaining  of  a  pain  in 
his  head,  caused  by  the  heat  of  the  sun.*  It  soon  deprived 
him  of  his  senses,  and  on  the  6th  of  April,  1621,  put  an 
end  to  his  life,  to  the  great  grief  of  this  infant  plantation.! 
He  was  buried  with  all  the  honors  which  could  be  shown 
to  the  memory  of  a  good  man  by  a  grateful  people.  The 
men  were  under  arms,  and  fired  several  volleys  over  his 
grave.  Jasper,  a  son  of  Governor  Carver,  had  died  on 
the  6th  of  December  preceding,  and  his  affectionate  wife, 
overcome  with  grief  for  the  loss  of  her  husband  and  son, 
soon  followed  them  to  the  grave. 

Elizabeth,  a  daughter,  married  John  Howland  ;|  and 

*  Baylies  observes,  "  it  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  such  an  effect  should 
have  been  produced  in  this  climate  in  the  month  of  April." 

i  At  a  general  meeting,  March  23d,  sundry  laws  were  enacted,  and  Mr. 
Carver  was  "  chosen,  or  rather  confirmed,"  governor  for  the  ensuing  year.  He 
sustained  the  office  four  months  and  twenty  days  only.  The  whole  number  of 
survivors  in  the  colony  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  fifty-five  only. 

X  John  Howland,  the  thirteenth  signer  of  the  compact,  is  counted  as  belong- 
ing to  Carver's  family,  whose  daughter  he  married.  The  Plymouth  colony 
records  speak  of  him  as  "  an  ancient  professor  of  the  ways  of  Christ ;  one  of 
the  first  comers,  and  proved  a  useful  instrument  of  good,  and  was  [one  of]  the 
last  of  the  male  survivors  of  those  who  came  over  in  the  Mayflower  in  1620, 
and  whose  place  of  abode  was  Plymouth."  John  Alden  of  Duxbury,  outlived 
him  fifteen  years.  The  last  survivor  of  the  Mayflower  was  Mary  Cushman, 
daughter  of  Isaac  Allerton.  Howfand  died  23d  February  1672,  at  Rocky  Nook 
in  Kingston,  aged  80.     He  had  four  sons  and  six  daughters,  some  of  whose 


JOHN    CARVER.  47 

there  were  other  children  remaining,  but  their  names 
are  nowhere  mentioned ;  neither  do  they  appear  at  any 
subsequent  time  in  the  annals  of  the  colony ;  they  attain- 
ed no  civil  honors ;  they  rose  to  no  distinction ;  but  less 
fortunate  than  the  children  of  other  governors,  they 
remained  in  obscurity,  and  were  unnoticed  by  the  people. 
The  name  of  Carver  does  not  appear  in  the  assignment 
of  lands  in  1623,  nor  in  the  division  of  cattle  in  1627. 
William,  a  grandson  of  Governor  Carver,  who  lived  at 
Marshfield,  acquired  some  notoriety  on  account  of  his 
extreme  age,  having  lived  until  he  was  one  hundred  and 
two  years  old.  This  grandson,  when  ninety-six  years  old, 
was  seen  labouring  in  the  same  field  with  his  son,  grand- 
son, and  great-grandson,  while  an  infant  of  the  fifth  gener- 
ation was  in  his  house.  He  died  2d  October,  1760. 
It  has  been  said  that  Jonathan  Carver,  the  traveller,  who 
died  in  London,  31  Jan.  1780,  was  a  descendant  of  the 
governor.* 

Governor  Carver  is  represented  as  a  man  of  great 
prudence,  integrity,  and  firmness  of  mind.  He  had  a 
good  estate  in  England,  which  he  spent  in  the  emigra- 
tion to  Holland  and  America.  He  was  one  of  the  fore- 
most in  action,  and  bore  a  large  share  of  sufferings  in  the 
service  of  the  colony,  who  confided  in  him  as  their  friend 
and  father.  Piety,  humility,  and  benevolence  were  emi- 
nent traits  in  his  character,  and  it  is  particularly  remarked 
that  in  the  time  of  general  sickness  which  befel  the 
colony,  and  with  which  he  was  affected,  after  he  had 

descendants  are  still  living  in  the  Old  Colony,  and  in  Rhode  Island.  A  gene- 
alogy of  the  family,  written  by  one  of  them,  the  venerable  John  Howland, 
President  of  the  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society,  is  inserted  in  Thacher's  Ply- 
mouth, p.  129.  i 

*  Edinb.  Encyclopedia,  (Amer.  edit.)  v.  467. 


48  JOHN    CARVER. 

himself  recovered;,  he  was  assiduous,  in  attending  the  sick, 
and  performing  the  most  humiliating  services  for  them, 
without  any  distinction  of  persons  or  characters. 

In  the  records  of  the  Church  at  Plymouth,  due  men- 
tion is  made  of  the  sad  loss  sustained  by  the  church  and 
colony  in  the  death  of  Governor  Carver.  "  This  worthy 
gentleman  was  one  of  singular  piety,  and  rare  for  humil- 
ity, which  appeared,  as  otherwise,  so  by  his  great  con- 
descendency,  when  as  this  miserable  people  were  in  great 
sickness,  he  shunned  not  to  do  very  mean  services  for 
them,  yea,  the  meanest  of  them.  He  bare  a  share  like- 
wise of  their  labours  in  his  own  person,  according  as  their 
great  necessity  required.  Who  being  one  also  of  con- 
siderable estate,  spent  the  main  part  of  it  in  this  enterprise, 
and  from  first  to  last  approved  himself  not  only  as  their 
agent  in  the  first  transaction  of  things,  but  also  along  to 
the  period  of  his  life,  to  be  a  pious,  faithful,  and  very 
beneficial  instrument."* 

The  memory  of  Governor  Carver  is  still  held  in 
esteem ;  and  a  broadsword,  and  other  relics,  which  be- 
longed to  him,  are  preserved  at  Pilgrim  Hall  in  Ply- 
mouth, or  in  the  cabinet  of  the  Historical  Society  at 
Boston,  as  precious  memorials  of  the  first  chief  magistrate 
of  the  Old  Colony. 

*MS.  Records  Plymouth  Church,  i.  27. 


49 


II.     WILLIAM  BRADFORD. 

When,  at  the  commencement  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  the  little  band  of  English  Puritans  gathered 
together,  and  formed  their  congregation,  near  the  con- 
fines of  the  counties  of  York,  Nottingham  and  Lincoln, — ■ 
choosing  for  their  ministers,  Richard  Clifton  and  John 
Robinson, — a  sedate  youth,  then  scarcely  twelve  years 
of  age,  of  grave  countenance  and  earnest  manner,  was 
observed  to  be  a  constant  attendant  upon  their  meetings. 
That  youth  was  William  Bradford,  an  orphan.  He 
was  born  in  the  year  1588,  at  Austerfield,  an  obscure 
village  in  Yorkshire.  His  parents  dying  while  he  was  a 
child,  his  education  was  provided  for  by  his  grand  parents 
and  uncles;  but  was  limited  almost  exclusively  to  those 
branllies  of  knowledge  deemed  necessary  to  an  agri- 
cultural life,  and  such  as  generally  falls  to  the  share  of 
the  children  of  English  husbandmen.  Deprived  of  other 
sources  of  information,  his  love  of  reading  naturally  sought 
gratification  in  the  Bible,  and  he  drank  deep  of  the  foun- 
tain of  truth  in  the  sacred  volume.  He  thus  acquired 
those  deep  impressions  of  piety,  and  that  inflexible  love 
for,  and  disposition  to  maintain  what  he  believed  to  be 
the  truth,  for  which  he  was  afterwards  distinguished. 

His  attendance  upon  the  ministrations  of  Clifton, 
deeply  offended  his  relatives.  They  were  hostile  to  the 
new  sect,  and  their  hostility  was  not  likely  to  be  softened 
by  the  reflection,  that  one  of  their  family,  dependent  in 
some  degree  upon  their  friendship,  had  presumed,  in 
opposition  to  their  remonstrances,  to  embrace  the  faith 
of  the  puritans.  Young  Bradford  was  therefore  exposed 
7 


50  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

to  their  resentment,  as  well  as  to  the  jeers  and  scoffs 
of  his  juvenile  companions.  But  he  had  deliberately- 
made  up  his  mind,  in  the  full  belief  that  his  course  was 
right — and  no  persuasion  nor  menaces  could  induce  him 
to  abandon  the  faith  which  he  had  thus  adopted. 

When  he  was  eighteen  years  old,  in  the  autumn  of 
1607,  Mr.  Bradford  became  one  of  the  company  who 
resolved  upon  an  early  removal  to  Holland,  as  the  only 
means  of  escape  from  persecution.  The  narrative  of 
their  two  first  attempts,  is  best  recited  in  the  words  of 
Bradford  himself,  as  follows : 

"  There  was  a  large  company  of  them  proposed  to 
get  passage  at  Boston,  in  Lincolnshire,  and  for  that  end 
had  hired  a  ship  wholly  to  themselves,  and  made  agree- 
ment with  the  master  to  be  ready  at  a  certain  day,  and 
take  them  and  their  goods  in  at  a  convenient  place,  where 
accordingly  they  would  all  attend  in  readiness.  So  af- 
ter long  waiting  and  large  expense,  though  he  kept  not 
day  with  them,  yet  he  came  at  length  and  took  them 
in,  in  the  night.  But  when  he  had  them  and  their  goods 
aboard,  he  betrayed  them,  having  beforehand  complotted 
with  the  searchers  and  other  officers  so  to  do,  who  took 
them  and  put  them  into  open  boats,  and  then  rifled  and 
ransacked  them,  searching  them  to  their  shirts  for  money, 
yea,  even  the  women,  further  than  became  modesty,  and 
then  carried  them  back  into  the  town,  and  made  them 
a  spectacle  and  wonder  to  the  multitude,  which  came 
flocking  on  all  sides  to  behold  them.  Being  thus,  first 
by  the  catch-poles,  rifled  and  stript  of  their  money,  books, 
and  much  other  goods,  they  were  presented  to  the  magis- 
trates, and  messengers  sent  to  inform  the  lords  of  the 
council  of  them,  and  so  they  were  committed  to  ward. 
Indeed,  the  magistrates  used  them  courteously,  and  shew- 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  51 

ed  them  what  favor  they  could,  but  could  not  deliver 
them  till  order  came  from  the  council  table ;  but  the 
issue  was,  that  after  a  month's  imprisonment,  the  greatest 
part  were  dismissed  and  sent  to  the  places  from  whence 
they  came,  but  seven  of  the  principal  men  were  still  kept 
in  prison,  and  bound  over  to  the  assizes.* 

"  The  next  spring  after,  there  was  another  attempt 
made,  by  some  of  these  and  others,  to  get  over  at  another 
place.  And  so  it  fell  out  that  they  light  of  a  Dutchman 
at  Hull,  having  a  ship  of  his  own  belonging  to  Zealand. 
They  made  agreement  with  him  and  acquainted  him  with 
their  condition,  hoping  to  find  more  faithfulness  in  him 
than  in  the  former  of  their  own  nation.  He  bade  them  not 
fear,  for  he  would  do  well  enough.  He  was  by  appoint- 
ment to  take  them  in  between  Grimsby  and  Hull,  where 
was  a  large  common  a  good  way  distant  from  any  town. 
Now  against  the  prefixed  time,  the  women  and  children, 
with  the  goods,  were  sent  to  the  place  in  a  small  bark, 
which  they  had  hired  for  that  end,  and  the  men  were 
to  meet  them  by  land ;  but  it  so  fell  out  that  they  were 
there  a  day  before  the  ship  came,  and  the  sea  being  rough, 
and  the  women  very  sick,  prevailed  with  the  seamen  to 
put  into  a  creek  hard  by,  where  they  lay  on  ground  at 
low  water.  The  next  morning  the  ship  came,  but  they 
were  fast  and  could  not  stir  till  about  noon.  In  the 
meantime  the  shipmaster,  perceiving  how  the  matter 
was,  sent  his  boat  to  get  the  men  aboard  whom  he  saw 
ready,  walking  about  the  shore,  but  after  the  first  boat- 
full  was  got  aboard,  and  she  was  ready  to  go  for  more, 
the  master  espied  a  great  company  both  horse  and  foot, 
with  bills,  and  guns,  and  other  weapons,  for  the  country 
was  raised  to  take  them.     The  Dutchman  seeing  that, 

*  Bradford  was  among  the  number  arrested  upon  this  occasion,  and  was  re- 
leased sua  consideration  of  his  youth. 


52  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

swore  his  country  oath  'sacramente,'  and  having  the 
wind  fair,  weighed  anchor,  hoisted  sails,  and  away. 
After  enduring  a  fearful  storm  at  sea  for  fourteen  days 
or  more,  seven  whereof  they  never  saw  sun,  moon  nor 
stars,  and  being  driven  near  the  coast  of  Norway, 
they  arrived  at  their  desired  haven,  where  the  people 
came  flocking,  admiring  their  deliverance,  the  storm 
having  been  so  long  and  sore,  in  which  much  hurt  had 
been  done,  as  the  master's  friends  related  to  him  in 
their  congratulations.  The  rest  of  the  men  that  were  in 
greatest  danger,  made  a  shift  to  escape  away  before  the 
troop  could  surprise  them,  those  only  staying  that  best 
might  be  assisting  unto  the  women.  But  pitiful  it  was 
to  see  the  heavy  case  of  these  poor  women  in  distress; 
what  weeping  and  crying  on  every  side,  some  for  their 
husbands  that  were  carried  away  in  the  ship,  others  not 
knowing  what  should  become  of  them  and  their  little  ones, 
crying  for  fear,  and  quaking  with  cold.  Being  appre- 
hended, they  were  hurried  from  one  place  to  another  till 
in  the  end  they  knew  not  what  to  do  with  them ;  for,  to 
imprison  so  many  women  with  their  innocent  children,  for 
no  other  cause,  many  of  them,  but  that  they  would  go 
with  their  husbands,  seemed  to  be  unreasonable,  and  all 
would  cry  out  of  them ;  and  to  send  them  home  again 
was  as  difficult,  for  they  alleged,  as  the  truth  was,  they 
had  no  homes  to  go  to,  for  they  had  either  sold  or  other- 
wise disposed  of  their  houses  and  livings.  To  be  short, 
after  they  had  been  thus  turmoiled  a  good  while,  and 
conveyed  from  one  constable  to  another,  they  were  glad  to 
be  rid  of  them  in  the  end  upon  any  terms,  though,  in  the 
meantime,  they,  poor  souls,  endured  misery  enough. 


?># 


*  See  Appendix,  No.  I,  Hutchinson's  History  of  the  Province  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  p.  449 ;  or  Bradford's  Hist,  in  Young's  Chronicles,  26. 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  53 

After  some  time,  Mr.  Bradford  succeeded  in  going 
over  to  Zealand,  though  he  encountered  many  difficul- 
ties. He  had  no  sooner  sat  his  foot  upon  the  shore,  than 
a  malicious  person,  who  had  come  as  passenger  in  the 
same  vessel,  accused  him  before  the  Dutch  magistrates, 
as  a  fugitive  from  England.  But  the  magistrates  were 
not  disposed  to  heed  the  tale  of  the  slanderer,  and  when 
upon  inquiry  they  came  to  understand  the  cause  and  cir- 
cumstances of  Bradford's  emigration,  instead  of  putting 
him  to  further  inconvenience,  they  gave  him  their  pro- 
tection, and  permission  to  join  his  friends  at  Amsterdam. 

Finding  it  impossible  successfully  to  prosecute  agri- 
culture in  Holland,  he  was  obliged  to  betake  himself  to 
some  other  occupation ;  and,  being  then  under  age,  he 
put  himself  as  an  apprentice  to  a  French  Protestant,  who 
taught  him  the  art  of  silk-dyeing.  As  soon  as  he  at- 
tained the  years  of  manhood,  he  sold  his  paternal  estate 
in  England,  and  entered  on  a  commercial  life,  in  which 
it  appears  that  he  was  not  successful. 

When  the  Church  of  Leyden  contemplated  a  remo- 
val to  America,  Bradford  zealously  engaged  in  the 
undertaking,  and  came  with  the  first  company  of  emi- 
grants in  1620,  to  Cape  Cod.  While  the  ship  lay  in 
that  harbour,  he  was  one  of  the  foremost  in  the  several 
hazardous  attempts  to  find  a  proper  place  for  the  seat 
of  the  colony,  in  one  of  which  he,  with  others  of  the 
principal  persons,  narrowly  escaped  the  destruction 
which  threatened  their  shallop.*  On  his  return  from 
this  excursion  to  the  ship,  with  the  joyful  news  of  having 
found  a  safe  harbour  and  a  place  for  settlement,  he 
was  met  by  the  unwelcome  intelligence,  that,  during  his 

*  Prince,  76.    See  account  in  Life  of  Carver,  pp.  33-35,  of  this  volume. 


54  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

absence,  his  wife  had  accidentally  fallen  into  the  sea  and 
was  drowned.* 

After  the  sudden  death  of  Governor  Carver,  in  April, 
1621,  the  eyes  of  the  infant  colony  were  turned  to  Mr. 
Bradford,  as  the  proper  person  to  succeed  him;  but, 
being  so  very  ill  at  that  time  that  his  life  was  despaired 
of,  they  waited  for  his  recovery,  and  then  invested  him 
with  the  chief  magistracy.  He  was  at  this  time  in  the 
thirty-third  year  of  his  age ;  his  wisdom,  piety,  fortitude, 
and  goodness  of  heart,  were  so  conspicuous  as  to  merit 
the  sincere  esteem  of  the  people. 

While  Carver  lived,  he  was  the  sole  executive  officer. 
No  oath  of  office  was  required,  and  he  entered  upon  his 
official  duties  without  ceremony  or  parade.  The  legisla- 
tive and  judicial  power  was  in  the  whole  body  of  the 
people,  who  had  the  most  entire  confidence,  that  he 
would  not  adventure  on  any  matter  of  moment  without 
their  consent,  or  the  advice  of  the  wisest  among  them. 
When  Mr.  Bradford  came  to  be  governor,  he  requested 
that  an  assistant  or  deputy  governor  should  be  appointed, 
and  the  choice  fell  upon  Isaac  Allerton.f     This  measure 

*  Mrs.  B.  was  drowned  on  the  7th  of  December.  Prince,  76.  Of  this  lady, 
we  learn  from  Prince,  that  her  baptismal  name  was  Dorothy  ;  and  from  a  letter 
written  at  Leyden,  by  Roger  White,  addressed  to  Governor  Bradford,  it  appears 
that  her  maiden  name  was  May.     I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  iii.  43. 

t  Isaac  Allerton  came  over  in  the  Mayflower,  with  his  wife  and  four  chil- 
dren. His  wife,  Mary,  died  25th  February,  1621,  and  a  few  years  afterwards 
he  married  Fear  Brewster,  daughter  of  Elder  William  Brewster.  In  point  of 
property,  he  ranked  first  in  the  colony,  and  was  a  man  of  consideration  in  other 
respects.  He  was  sent  to  England  in  the  fall  of  1626,  to  complete  a  negotiation 
which  Standish  had  commenced  with  the  adventurers  there,  but  had  been  obliged 
to  abandon  on  account  of  the  plague  then  raging  in  London.  Prince,  156,  162. 
He  returned  in  the  spring  of  1627,  having  conditionally  purchased  for  his  asso- 
ciates the  rights  of  the  adventurers  for  the  sum  of  £1800,  to  be  paid  in  seven  years. 
He  also  borrowed  £200  at  30  per  cent,  interest,  "  to  the  great  content  of  the 
plantation."  Prince,  165.  He  took  a  second  voyage  as  agent  in  1627,  during 
which  he  procured  a  patent  for  a  trading  place  on  the  Kennebeck.  He  made 
two  voyages  to  England  in  1629,  to  procure  a  new  and  enlarged  patent  for  the 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  55 

was  deemed  advisable  from  the  precarious  health  of 
Governor  Bradford,  and  also  to  avoid  any  interregnum 
in  the  government,  in  case  of  his  death  before  his  term 
of  office  expired,  as  had  happened  in  the  case  of  Gover- 
nor Carver.*  They  appointed  but  one  assistant  to  the 
governor,  because  they  were  so  reduced  in  number,  that 
to  have  made  a  greater  disproportion  between  rulers  and 
people,  would  have  been  absurd,  and  they  knew  that  it 
would  be  in  their  power  to  increase  the  number  when- 
ever the  circumstances  of  the  colony  should  require  it. 
Their  voluntary  combination  was  probably  at  this  time 
considered  only  as  a  temporary  expedient,  until  they 
should  obtain  a  charter  under  the  authority  of  the  king. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  Bradford's  administration  was, 
by  advice  of  the  company,  to  send  Edward  Winslow 
and  Stephen  Hopkins  to  Massasoit,  with  Squanto,  for 
their  guide.  The  design  of  this  embassy  was  to  explore 
the  country ;  to  confirm  the  league  with  that  sachem ;  to 
learn  the  situation  and  strength  of  their  new  friend ;  to 
carry  him  some  presents ;  to  apologize  for  some  misbe- 
haviour on  the  part  of  the  settlers ;  to  regulate  the  inter- 
course between  them  and  the  Indians,  and  to  procure 
seed-corn  for  the  next  planting  season. 

These  gentlemen  found  the  sachem  at  Pokanoket,f 

colony.  But  he  met  with  many  difficulties  ;  "  many  locks  (says  Shirley)  must 
be  opened  with  the  silver,  nay,  with  the  golden  key."  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  iir. 
70.  He  gave  "  great  and  just  offence  (says  Prince)  in  bringing  over  Morton," 
the  unruly  leader  at  Merry  Mount.  But  he  was  in  the  end  successful  in  his 
difficult  undertaking  for  the  colony,  although  the  expenses  and  misunderstand- 
ings growing  out  of  the  transaction,  appear  to  have  occasioned  his  final  separa- 
tion from  the  colonists.  He  returned  to  England  in  1631,  and  was  "  no  mope 
employed  by  the  plantation."  He  became  an  enterprising  trader  at  Penobscot, 
and  elsewhere,  and  afterwards  removed  to  New-Haven,  where  he  died  in  165& 

*  Hubbard's  Hist.  N.  E.  61. 

t  This  was  a  general  name  for  the  northern  shore  of  the  Narragansett  Bay, 
between-  Providence  and  Taunton  Rivers,  and  comprehending  the  present  towrv 


56  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

distance  about  forty  miles  from  Plymouth.  They  deliv- 
ered the  presents,  renewed  the  friendship,  and  satisfied 
themselves  respecting  the  strength,  of  the  natives,  which 
did  not  appear  to  be  formidable,  nor  was  the  entertain- 
ment which  they  received  either  liberal  or  splendid. 
The  marks  of  desolation  and  death,  by  reason  of  the  late 
pestilence,  were  very  conspicuous  in  all  the  country 
through  which  they  passed ;  but  they  were  informed  that 
the  Narragansetts,  who  resided  on  the  western  shore  of 
the  bay  of  that  name,  were  very  numerous,  and  that  the 
pestilence  had  not  reached  them. 

After  the  return  of  this  embassy,  another  was  sent 
to  Nauset,*  to  recover  a  boy  who  had  strayed  away  from 
New  Plymouth,  and  had  been  taken  up  by  some  of  the 
Indians  of  that  place.  They  were  so  fortunate  as  to  re- 
cover the  boy,  and  make  peace  with  Aspinet,  the  sachem, 
whom  they  paid  for  the  seed  corn  which  they  had  taken 
out  of  the  ground  at  Paomet,  in  the  preceding  autumn.f 
During  this  expedition,  an  old  woman,  who  had  never 
before  seen  any  white  people,  burst  into  tears  of  grief 
and  rage  at  the  sight  of  them.  She  had  lost  three  sons, 
by  the  perfidy  of  Thomas  Hunt,  who  decoyed  them,  with 
others,  on   board   his  ship,  and   sold   them   for  slaves. 

ships  of  Bristol,  Warren,  and  Barrington,  in  the  State  of  Rhode  Island,  and 
Swansey  in  Massachusetts.  Its  northern  extent  is  unknown.  The  principal 
seats  of  the  sachem  were  at  Sowams  and  Keekamuit.  The  former  is  a  neck  of 
land,  formed  by  the  confluence  of  Barrington  and  Palmer's  Rivers;  the  latter  ia 
Mount  Hope.     See  Callender's  Century  Discourse,  pp.  30,  73. 

*  Now  Eastham,  Mass. 

t  Mourt's  Relation,  in  Purchas,  iv.  1853.  "  We  sent  Tisquantum  to  tell 
Aspinet,  the  sachem  of  Nauset,  wherefore  we  came.  After  sunset,  Aspinet 
came  with  a  great  train,  and  brought  the  boy  with  him,  one  bearing  him  through 
the  water.  He  had  not  less  than  an  hundred  with  him ;  the  half  whereof  came 
to  the  shallop  side,  unarmed  with  him ;  the  other  stood  aloof  with  their  bows 
and  arrows.  There  he  delivered  us  the  boy,  behung  with  beads,  and  made 
peace  with  us,  we  bestowing  a  knife  on  him,  and  likewise  on  another  that  first 
entertained  the  boy  and  brought  him  thither.     So  they  departed  from  us." 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  57 

Squanto,  who  was  present,  told  her  that  he  had  been 
carried  away  at  the  same  time ;  that  Hunt  was  a  bad 
man ;  that  his  countrymen  disapproved  of  his  conduct, 
and  that  the  English  at  Plymouth  would  not  offer  them 
any  injury.  This  declaration,  accompanied  by  a  small 
present,  appeased  her  anger,  though  it  was  impossible 
to  remove  the  cause  of  her  grief. 

It  was  fortunate  for  the  colonists,  that  they  had  secured 
the  friendship  of  Massasoit,  for  his  influence  was  found  to 
be  very  great  among  all  the  surrounding  tribes.  He  was 
regarded  and  reverenced  by  all  the  natives,  from  the  Bay 
of  Narragansett  to  that  of  Massachusetts.  Though  some 
of  the  petty  sachems  were  disposed  to  be  jealous  of  the 
new  colony,  and  to  disturb  its  peace,  yet  their  mutual  con- 
nection with  and  reliance  upon  the  advice  of  Massasoit, 
proved  the  means  of  its  preservation ;  as  a  proof  of  which, 
nine  of  these  sachems  voluntarily  came  to  Plymouth,  and 
there  subscribed  an  instrument  of  submission,  in  the 
following  terms,  viz : 

"  September  13,  Anno  Bom.  1621.  Know  all  men  by 
these  Presents,  that  we,  whose  Names  are  under  written, 
do  acknowledge  ourselves  to  be  the  Loyal  Subjects  of  King 
James,  King  of  Great  Britain,  France  and  Ireland,  De- 
fender of  the  Faith,  &c.  In  witness  whereof,  and  as  a 
Testimonial  of  the  same,  we  have  Subscribed  our  Names, 
or  Marks,  as  followeth: 

Ohquamehud,  Chikkatabak, 

Cawnacome,  Quadaquina, 

Obbatinnua,  Huttamoiden, 

Nattawahunt,  Apannow."* 

Caunbatant, 

*  Obbatinnua,  or  Obbatinowat,  was  one  of  the  Massachusetts  sachems ;  his 


58  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

Hobbamock,*  another  of  these  subordinate  chiefs, 
came  and  took  up  his  residence  at  Plymouth,  where  he 
continued  as  a  faithful  guide  and  interpreter  as  long  as 
he  lived.  The  Indians  of  the  Island  of  Capawock,  which 
had  now  obtained  the  name  of  Martha's  or  Martin's  Vine- 
yard, also  sent  messengers  of  peace. 

residence  was  on  or  near  the  Peninsula  of  Shawmut,  (Boston.)  Chikkatabak,or 
Gbicketawbut,  was  the  sagamore  of  Neponset,  (Dorchester,)  and  is  frequently 
mentioned  in  the  History  of  Massachusetts.  [See  especially  the  early  part  of 
Winthrop's  Journal.]  He  died  of  the  small  pox  in  November,  1633.  These 
Massachusetts  sachems  were  not  completely  independent,  but  acknowledged  a 
degree  of  subjection  to  Massasoit.  Caunbatant,  or  Corbitant;  his  residence  was 
at  Mattapuyst,  a  neck  of  land  in  the  township  of  Swansey.  Mr.  Winslow,  who 
had  frequent  conferences  with  hiin  at  his  wigwam  and  other  places,  represents 
him  as  a  hollow-hearted  friend  to  the  Plymouth  planters,  'a  notable  politician, 
yet  full  of  merry  jests  and  squibs,  and  never  better  pleased  than  when  the  like 
are  returned  again  upon  him.'  Quadaquina,  or  Quindaquina,  was  a  brother  of 
Massasoit.  Of  the  five  other  sachems,  who  signed  the  instrument  of  submission, 
no  satisfactory  account  can  be  given.     Davis'  note,  Morton's  Mem.  67. 

Cawnacome,  or  Caunacum,  was  sachem  of  Manoinet,  (Sandwich,)  and  died, 
it  is  said,  in  1623.  Prince,  126, 133.  The  name  Apannow  has  a  singular  resem- 
blance to  Epcnow,  who  was  a  native  of  the  southern  part  of  Cape  Cod,  sup- 
posed to  have  been  carried  to  England  by  Captain  Harlow,  in  1611,  and  who 
returned  from  England  with  Captain  Harley,  in  1614.  Prince,  41.  "In 
Mourt's  Relation,  quoted  by  Prince  (p.  Ill,)  it  is  said,  '  Yea,  Massasoit,  in  wri- 
ting, under  his  hand  to  Captain  Standish,  has  owned  the  King  of  England  to 
be  his  master,  both  he  and  many  other  kings  under  him,  as  of  Pamet,  [part  of 
Truro,]  Nauset,  [part  of  Eastham,]  Cummaquid,  [Barnstable  north  harbor,] 
Nainasket,  [part  of  Middleborougb,]  with  divers  others,  who  dwell  about  the 
bays  of  Patuxet  and  Massachusetts;  and  all  this  by  friendly  usage,  love  and 
peace,  just  and  honest  carriage,  good  counsel,"  &c. 

*  Now  commonly  written  Hobomok.  This  true  friend  to  the  English  de- 
serves a  lasting  remembrance.  He  was  attached  to  them  from  the  beginning, 
and  no  threats  or  danger,  or  enticements  could  seduce  him  from  his  faithful- 
ness. They  were  often  indebted  for  much  of  their  advantage  and  safety  to  the 
sagacity  of  his  observation  and  of  his  counsels.  He  served  them  in  every  way, 
as  guide,  companion,  counsellor,  and  friend,  unmoved  by  the  ridicule  and  scorn 
of  those  whom  he  had  abandoned,  and  unawed  by  the  sworn  hatred  of  the 
savage  and  wily  Corbitant.  His  services  were  acknowledged  by  a  grant  of 
lands  in  the  colony.  Gentle  and  guileless  in  his  temper,  he  was  easily  won  by 
the  pure  and  simple  truths  of  religion,  and,  spite  of  all  temptation,  professed 
himself  a  Christian.  We  are  not  informed  of  the  date  of  his  death,  but  we  are 
told  in  a  work  published  in  1642,  ("  New  England's  First  Fruits,")  that  "he 
died  amongst  them,  (the  English,)  leaving  some  good  hopes  in  their  hearts  that 
his  soul  went  to  rest."     Note  to  Davis'  Morton.  212. 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  59 

Having  heard  much  of  the  Bay  of  Massachusetts, 
both  from  the  Indians  and  the  English  fishermen,  Gover- 
nor Bradford  appointed  ten  men.  with  Squanto,  and  two 
other  Indians,  to  visit  the  place  and  trade  with  the  natives. 
On  the  18th  of  September,  they  sailed  in  a  shallop, 
and  the  next  day  got  to  the  bottom  of  the  bay,  where 
they  landed  under  a  cliff,*  and  were  kindly  received  by 
Obbatinnua,  the  sachem  who  had  subscribed  the  submis- 
sion at  Plymouth  a  few  days  before.  He  renewed  his 
submission,  and  received  a  promise  of  assistance  and  de- 
fence against  the  squaw  sachem  of  Massachusetts,  and 
other  of  his  enemies. 

The  appearance  of  the  bay  was  pleasing.  They  saw 
the  mouths  of  two  rivers  which  emptied  into  it.  The 
islands  were  cleared  of  wood,  and  had  been  planted,  but 
most  of  the  people  who  had  inhabited  them,  were  either 
dead  or  had  removed.  Those  who  remained  were  con- 
tinually in  fear  of  the  Tarratines,  who  frequently  came 
from  the  eastward  in  a  hostile  manner,  and  robbed  them 
of  their  corn.  In  one  of  these  predatory  invasions, 
Nanepashamet,  a  sachem,  had  been  slain ;  his  body  lay 
buried  under  a  frame,  surrounded  by  an  intrenchment 
and  palisade.  A  monument  on  the  top  of  a  hill  desig- 
nated the  place  where  he  was  killed. f 

Having  explored  the  bay,  and  collected  some  beaver, 
the  shallop  returned  to  Plymouth,  and  brought  so  good 
a  report  of  the  place,  that  the  people  wished  they  had 
been  seated  there.     But,  having  planted  corn  and   built 

*  Supposed  to  be  Copp's  Hill,  in  the  town  of  Boston. 

t  Shattuck,  in  the  History  of  Concord,  says  this  "  was  in  Medford,  near 
Mystic  Pond."  Lewis,  in  his  History  of  Lynn,  says  Nanepashamet  was  killed 
about  the  year  1619,  and  that  his  widow,  (the  Squaw  Sachem  referred  to  by 
Obbatinnua,)  continued  the  government. 


60  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

huts  at  Plymouth,  and  being  there  in  security  from  the 
natives,  they  judged  the  motives  for  continuance  to  be 
stronger  than  for  a  removal.  Most  of  their  posterity  have 
judged  otherwise. 

In  November,  1621,  a  ship  arrived  from  England, 
with  thirty-five  passengers,  to  augment  the  colony.* 
Unhappily  they  were  so  short  of  provisions,  that  the 
people  of  Plymouth  were  obliged  to  victual  the  ship 
home,  and  then  put  themselves  and  the  new-comers 
upon  half  allowance.  Before  the  next  spring,  ( 1 622, )  the 
colony  began  to  feel  the  rigors  of  famine.  The  Indians 
had  in  some  way  become  apprised  of  their  situation,  and 
in  the  height  of  their  distress,  the  governor  received 
from  Canonicus,  sachem  of  the  Narragansetts,  a  threat- 
ening message,  in  the  emblematic  style  of  the  ancient 
Scythians — a  bundle  of  arrows,  bound  up  with  the  skin 
of  a  serpent.  The  governor  sent  an  answer,  in  the  same 
style — the  skin  of  the  serpent,  filled  with  powder  and 
ball.  The  Narragansetts,  afraid  of  its  contents,  sent  it 
back  unopened,  and  here  the  correspondence  ended. 

It  was  now  judged  proper  to  fortify  the  town.  Ac- 
cordingly, it  was  surrounded  with  a  stockade  and  four 
flankarts;  a  guard  was  kept  by  day  and  by  night,  the 
company  being  divided  for  that  purpose  into  four  squad- 
rons. A  select  number  were  appointed,  in  case  of  acci- 
dental fire,  to  mount  guard  with  their  backs  to  the  fire, 
so  as  to  prevent  a  surprise  from  the  Indians.  Within 
the  stockade  was  enclosed  the  top  of  the  hill,  under 
which  the  town  was  built,  and  a  sufficiency  of  land  for 
a  garden  assigned  to  each  family.  The  works  were 
begun  in  February,  and  finished  in  March. 

*  This  ship  was  the  Fortune,  of  fifty-five  tons.     She  arrived  November  9th. 
Prince,  114. 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  61 

At  this  time,  the  famine  was  beginning  to  be  severe. 
Fish  and  spring-water  were  the  only  food  upon  which 
the  people  subsisted.  The  want  of  bread  reduced  their 
flesh ;  yet  they  had  so  much  health  and  spirit,  that,  on 
hearing  of  the  massacre  in  Virginia,  they  erected  an 
additional  fort  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  with  a  flat  roof,  on 
which  their  guns  were  mounted ;  the  lower  story  being 
used  as  a  place  of  worship.  Such  was  the  character  of 
these  times  and  of  these  men.  The  temple  of  the  Lord 
was  defended  by  cannon,  and  his  worshippers  were  armed 
men.*  Sixty  acres  of  ground  were  this  year  planted  with 
corn ;  and  their  gardens  were  sown  with  the  seeds  of 
other  esculent  vegetables  in  great  plenty. 

The  arrival  of  two  shipsf  in  midsummer,  with  a  new 
colonists,  sent  out  by  Thomas  Weston,  but  without  provis- 
ions, was  an  additional  misfortune.  Some  of  these  peo- 
ple, being  sick,  were  lodged  in  the  hospital  at  New  Ply- 
mouth, until  they  were  so  far  recovered  as  to  join  their 
companions,  who  seated  themselves  at  Wessagusset,  since 
called  Weymouth. 

The  first  supply  of  provisions  was  obtained  from  the 
fishing  vessels,  of  which  thirty-five  came  this  spring  from 
England  to  the  coast.  In  August,  two  ships,  arrived 
with  trading  goods,  which  the  planters  bought  at  a  great 
disadvantage,  giving  beaver  in  exchange.J     The  sum- 

*  Baylies,  i.  93. 

t  The  Charity,  of  one  hundred  tons,  and  the  Swan,  of  thirty.  The  Charity, 
having  gone  on  to  Virginia,  returned  to  Weymouth,  and  thence  to  England, 
about  the  end  of  September,  1622.  The  Swan  remained  at  Weymouth,  for  the 
use  of  the  colonists.     Prince,  122. 

t  The  Sparrow,  (Weston's,)  which  had  returned  from  a  fishing  voyage  on 
the  coast  of  Maine,  and  the  Discovery,  commanded  by  Jones,  the  former  com- 
mander of  the  Mayflower.  "  This  ship,"  says  Morton,  (p.  39,)  speaking  of  the 
latter,  "  had  store  of  English  beads  (which  were  then  good  trade)  and  some 


62  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

mer  being  dry,  and  the  harvest  short,  it  became  necessary 
to  make  excursions  among  the  natives  to  procure  corn  and 
beans,  with  the  goods  purchased  from  the  ships.  Captain 
Standis'h  was  to  have  commanded  this  expedition,  but 
being  driven  back  twice  by  violent  winds,  and  falling  ill 
of  a  fever,  Governor  Bradford  took  the  command  himself, 
and  after  encountering  some  hazard  from  the  shoals,  he 
made  for  a  harbour  at  a  place  called  Mannamoyck,  [Chat- 
ham,] and,  after  sounding  through  a  narrow  and  intricate 
channel,  anchored.  The  governor,  attended  by  Squanto, 
went  on  shore,  but  the  natives  were  shy  of  intercourse 
for  some  time ;  at  length,  understanding  his  intentions, 
they  threw  off  their  reserve,  and  welcomed  him  with 
much  apparent  joy,  feasting  him  and  his  company  on 
venison  and  other  food, — yet  so  jealous  were  they,  when 
they  ascertained  that  the  governor  intended  to  remain 
on  shore  during  the  night,  that  they  carefully  removed 
their  property  from  their  habitations.  Squanto  having 
succeeded  in  persuading  them  that  the  intentions  of  the 
English  were  good,  they  were  at  length  induced  to  sell 
them  eight  hogsheads  of  corn  and  beans. 

They  intended  to  have  proceeded  farther  down  the 
Cape,  being  assured  both  by  Squanto  and  the  Indians  of 
Mannamoyck  that  there  was  a  safe  passage,  but  their 
design  was  frustrated  by  the  sudden  sickness  of  Squanto, 
who  was  seized  with  a  fever  so  violent,  that  it  soon  oc- 
casioned his  death,  to  the  great  grief  of  the  Governor. 
Although  Squanto  had  discovered  some  traits  of  du- 

knives,  but  would  sell  none  but  at  dear  rates,  and  also  a  good  quantity  together ; 
yet  they  (the  planters)  were  glad  of  the  occasion,  and  fain  to  buy  at  any  rate ; 
they  were  fain  to  give  after  the  rate  of  cent,  per  cent.,  if  not  more,  and  yet 
pay  away  coat  beaver  at  three  shillings  per  pound,"  "  which,  (says  Prince,)  a 
few  years  after,  yields  twenty  shillings  a  pound." 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  63 

plicity,  yet  his  loss  was  justly  deemed  a  public  misfor- 
tune, as  he  had  rendered  the  English  much  service.  A 
short  time  previous  to  his  death,  he  requested  the  gov- 
ernor to  c  pray  that  he  might  go  to  the  Englishman's  God 
in  heaven,'  and  he  bequeathed  his  little  property  to  his 
English  friends,  as  remembrances  of  his  love. 

In  these  excursions,  Mr.  Bradford  was  treated  by  the 
natives  with  great  respect,  and  the  trade  was  conducted 
on  both  sides  with  justice  and  confidence.  At  Nauset, 
the  shallop  being  stranded,  it  was  necessary  to  put  the 
corn  which  had  been  purchased  in  stack,  and  to  leave  it, 
covered  with  mats  and  sedge,  in  the  care  of  the  Indians. 
This  was  in  November,  and  it  remained  there  until  Janu- 
ary, when  another  shallop  was  sent  round,  and  it  was 
found  in  perfect  safety,  and  the  stranded  shallop  was 
recovered.*  Governor  Bradford,  having  procured  a 
guide,  when  his  shallop  was  stranded,  with  his  party,  re- 
turned home  through  the  wilderness  fifty  miles  on  foot. 

At  Namasket,  [Middleborough,]  an  inland  place,  he 
bought  another  quantity,  which  was  brought  home,  partly 
by  the  people  of  the  colony,  and  partly  by  the  Indian 
women,  their  men  disdaining  to  bear  burdens. 

At  Manomet,  [Sandwich,]  he  bargained  for  more, 
which  he  was  obliged  to  leave  till  March,  when  Captain 
Standish  went  and  fetched  it  home,  the  Indian  women 
bringing  it  down  to  the  shallop.  The  whole  quantity 
thus  purchased,  amounted  to  twenty-eight  hogsheads  of 
corn  and  beans,  of  which  Weston's  people  had  a  share, 
as  they  had  joined  in  the  purchase. 

In  the  spring  of  1623,  the  governor  received  a  mes- 
sage from  Massasoit,  that  he  was  sick,  on  which  occasion  it 

*  Winslow,  iu  Purchas,  iv.  1858. 


64  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

is  usual  for  all  the  friends  of  the  Indians  to  visit  them,  or 
send  them  presents.  Mr.  Winslow  again  went  to  visit  the 
sachem,  accompanied  by  Mr.  John  Hampden,*  and  they 
had  Hobbamock  for  their  guide  and  interpreter.  The 
visit  was  very  consolatory  to  their  sick  friend,  and  the 
more  so  as  Winslow  carried  him  some  cordials,  and  made 
him  broth  after  the  English  mode,  which  contributed  to 
his  recovery.  In  return  for .  this  friendly  attention, 
Massasoit  communicated  to  Hobbamock,  intelligence  of 
a  dangerous  conspiracy,  then  in  agitation  among  the  In- 
dians, in  which  he  had  been  solicited  to  join.  Its  object 
was  nothing  less  than  the  total  extirpation  of  the  English, 
and  it  was  occasioned  by  the  imprudent  conduct  of  Wes- 
ton's people  in  the  Bay  of  Massachusetts.  The  Indians 
had  in  contemplation  to  make  them  the  first  victims,  and 
then  to  fall  on  the  people  of  Plymouth.  Massasoit's 
advice  was,  that  the  English  should  seize  and  put  to 
death  the  chief  conspirators,  whom  he  named,  and  said 
that  this  would  prevent  the  execution  of  the  plot.  Hob- 
bamock communicated  this  secret  to  Winslow,  as  they 
were  returning  home,  and  it  was  reported  to  the  governor. 
On  this  alarming  occasion,  the  whole  company  were 

*  In  Winslow's  Journal,  Mr.  Hampden  is  said  to  be  "  a  gentleman  of  Lon- 
don, who  then  wintered  with  us,  and  desired  much  to  see  the  country."  Bel- 
knap supposed  this  person  to  be  the  same  who  distinguished  himself  by  his 
opposition  to  the  illegal  and  arbitrary  demands  of  King  Charles  the  First;  and 
refers  to  the  tradition  that  Hampden  and  Cromwell  attempted  to  embark  for 
New  England,  in  1638.  But  the  evidence  seems  to  be  conclusive,  that  the 
great  English  patriot  never  was  in  America.  Bancroft  (i.  412,)  thus  disposes 
of  the  question  :  "  A  person  who  bore  the  same  or  nearly  the  same  name,  was 
undoubtedly  there ;  but  the  greatest  patriot-statesman  of  his  times,  the  man 
whom  Charles  I.  would  gladly  have  seen  drawn  and  quartered,  whom  Claren- 
don paints  as  possessing  beyond  all  his  contemporaries,  "  a  head  to  conceive,  a 
tongue  to  persuade,  and  a  hand  to  execute,"  and  whom  the  fervent  Baxter  re- 
vered as  able,  by  his  presence  and  conversation,  to  give  a  new  charm  to  the 
rest  of  the  Saints  in  heaven,  was  never  in  America;  nor  did  he  ever  embark 
for  America." 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  65 

assembled  in  court,  and  the  news  was  imparted  to  them. 
Such  was  their  confidence  in  Governor  Bradford,  that 
they  unanimously  requested  him,  with  Allerton,  his  as- 
sistant, to  concert  the  best  measures  for  their  safety.  The 
result  was,  a  determination  to  strengthen  the  fortifications, 
to  be  vigilant  at  home,  and  to  send  such  a  force  to  the 
Bay  of  Massachusetts,  under  Captain  Standish,  as  he 
should  judge  sufficient  to  crush  the  conspiracy. 

The  people  whom  Weston  had  sent,  to  plant  his  colony 
at  Wessagussett,  were  so  disorderly  and  imprudent,  that 
the  Indians  were  not  only  disgusted  with  them,  but  des- 
pised them,  and  intended  to  make  them  their  first  victims. 
One  of  the  settlers  came  to  Plymouth  with  a  lamentable 
account  of  their  weak  condition.  He  accidentally  lost 
his  way  on  the  journey,  and  thus  escaped  the  tomahawk 
of  an  Indian,  who  followed  him.  The  Indian  pursued 
him  to  Plymouth,  where,  being  suspected  as  a  spy,  he 
was  confined  in  irons.  Standish,  with  eight  chosen  men, 
and  the  faithful  Hobbamock,  went  in  the  shallop  to  Wes- 
ton's plantation,  taking  goods  with  him,  as  usual,  to 
trade  with  the  Indians.  Here  he  met  the  persons  who 
had  been  pointed  out  to  him  as  the  conspirators ;  who  per- 
sonally insulted  and  threatened  him.  A  quarrel  ensued, 
in  which  seven  of  the  Indians  were  killed.  The  others 
were  so  struck  with  terror,  that  they  forsook  their  houses 
and  retreated  to  the  swamps,  where  many  of  them  died 
with  cold  and  hunger.  The  survivors  would  have  sued 
for  peace,  but  were  afraid  to  go  to  Plymouth.  Weston's 
people  were  so  apprehensive  of  the  consequences  of  this 
affair,  that  they  abandoned  their  plantation;  and  the  peo- 
ple of  Plymouth,  who  offered  them  protection,  which 
they  would  not  accept,  were  glad  to  be  rid  of  such  trou- 
9 


66  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

blesome  neighbors.  Weston  did  not  come  in  person  to 
America,  till  after  the  dispersion  of  his  people,  some  of 
whom  he  found  among  the  eastern  fishermen,  and  from 
them  he  first  heard  of  the  ruin  of  his  enterprise.  In  a 
storm,  he  was  cast  away  between  the  rivers  Merrimack 
and  Pascataqua,  and  was  robbed  by  the  natives  of  all  he 
had  saved  from  the  wreck.  Having  borrowed  a  suit  of 
clothes  from  some  of  the  people  at  Pascataqua,  he  came  to 
Plymouth,  where,  in  consideration  of  his  necessity,  the 
government  lent  him  two  hundred  weight  of  beaver,  with 
which  he  sailed  to  the  eastward,  with  such  of  his  own 
people  as  were  disposed  to  accompany  him.  It  is  ob- 
served, that  he  never  repaid  the  debt  but  with  enmity 
and  reproach.* 

Thus,  by  the  spirited  conduct  of  a  handful  of  brave 
men,  in  conformity  to  the  advice  of  the  friendly  Mas- 
sasoit,  a  dangerous  conspiracy  was  annihilated.  But, 
when  the  report  of  this  transaction  was  carried  to  their 
brethren  in  Holland,  Mr.  Robinson,  in  his  next  letter  to 
the  governor,  lamented  with  great  concern  and  tender- 
ness, "  O  that  you  had  converted  some,  before  you  had 
killed  any."f 

Much  obloquy  has  been  thrown  on  the  character  of 
the  Pilgrims,  for  this  attack  upon  the  Indians.  The  ex- 
istence of  the  conspiracy  is  said  to  have  been  ideal,  and 
it  is  confidently  asserted  in  modern  times,  that  the  In- 
dians were  disposed  to  friendship  when  they  were  as- 
sailed by  Standish,  and  that  the  conspiracy  was  a  mere 
pretence  on  the  part  of  the  English  to  rid  themselves  of 
troublesome  neighbors,  and  to  acquire  their  country ;  but 
any  one  who  examines  the  proofs  with  impartiality,  will 

*  Prince,  135.     See  note,  on  page  20.     t  Prince,  146. 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  67 

be  convinced  of  its  existence,  and  that  the  colonists  were 
actuated  neither  by  interest  nor  revenge,  but  only  endea- 
voured to  secure  their  own  safety  by  attacking  those,  who, 
when  their  projects  were  matured,  would  have  destroyed 
them.* 

In  the  autumn  of  1623,  Captain  Standish  proceeded 
to  the  little  settlement,  which  had  been  commenced  by 
David  Thompson  on  the  banks  of  the  Pascataqua,  where 
the  settlers  readily  supplied  him  with  such  provisions  as 
they  could  spare. 

The  scarcity  which  the  colonists  had  hitherto  expe- 
rienced was  partly  owing  to  the  increase  of  their  num- 
bers, and  the  scantiness  of  their  supplies  from  Europe ; 
but  principally  to  their  mode  of  laboring  in  common, 
and  putting  the  fruits  of  their  labor  into  the  public  store  ; 
an  error  which  had  the  same  effect  here  as  in  Virginia. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Fortune,  which  arrived 
from  England,  in  November,  1621,  brought  thirty-five 
new  settlers,  and  no  supply  of  provisions.  A  thrilling 
narrative  of  the  sufferings  of  the  people  at  this  period, 
may  be  gathered  from  Winslow  and  Bradford.  "  They 
never  had  any  supply  to  any  purpose  after  this  time, 
but  what  the  Lord  helped  them  to  raise  by  their  own 
industry  among  themselves ;  for  all  that  came  afterward 
was  too  short  for  the  passengers  that  came  with  it."f 
"About  the  end  of  May,  (1622,)  our  store  of  victuals 
was  wholly  spent,  having  lived  long  before  with  a  bare 
and  short  allowance ;  and,  indeed,  had  we  not  been  in 
a  place  where  divers  sorts  of  shellfish  are,  that  may 
be  taken  with  the  hand,  we  must  have  perished,  unless 
God  had  raised  up   some  unknown  or  extraordinary 

*  Baylies,  i.  106.     t  Morton,  35. 


68  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

means  for  our  preservation."*  Winslow  was  sent  to 
the  fishing  vessels  at  Monhiggon,  on  the  coast  of  Maine, 
to  seek  supplies,  and  procure  enough  to  give  each  per- 
son a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  bread  a  day  till  the  har- 
vest. They  had  planted  this  year  nearly  sixty  acres  of 
corn,  but  the  harvest  proved  a  scanty  year's  supply  for 
the  colony,  "  partly  by  reason  they  were  not  yet  well 
acquainted  with  the  manner  of  the  husbandry  of  Indian 
corn  ....  but  chiefly  their  weakness  for  want  of  food."f 
In  1623,  Governor  Bradford  says, J  "  By  the  time  our 
corn  is  planted,  our  victuals  are  spent ;  not  knowing  at 
night  where  to  have  a  bit  in  the  morning,  and  have  neither 
bread  nor  corn  for  three  or  four  months  together,  yet  bear 
our  wants  with  cheerfulness,  and  rest  on  Providence." 
Brewster,  the  ruling  elder,  lived  for  many  months  to- 
gether without  bread,  and  frequently  on  fish  alone. 
With  nothing  but  oysters  and  clams  before  him,  he,  with 
his  family,  would  give  thanks  that  they  could  "  suck  of 
the  abundance  of  the  seas,  and  of  the  treasures  hidden 
in  the  sands."  It  is  said  that  they  were  once  reduced 
to  a  pint  of  corn,  which  being  equally  divided,  gave  to 
each  a  proportion  of  five  kernels,  which  was  parched 
and  eaten. § 

To  remedy  as  far  as  possible  the  evils  of  scarcity,  though 
it  might  not  be  in  exact  accordance  with  their  engage- 

*  Winslow's  Relation,  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  viii.  245,  246. 

t  Morton,  39.     t  Prince,  135. 

§  At  the  centennial  feast,  Dec.  22, 1820,  much  of  the  beauty,  fashion,  wealth, 
and  talent  of  Massachusetts  had  congregated  at  Plymouth.  Orators  spoke,  and 
poets  sang,  the  praises  of  their  pilgrim  fathers.  The  richest  viands  gratified 
the  most  fastidious  epicure  to  satiety.  Beside  each  plate,  five  grains  of  parched 
corn  were  placed,  a  simple  but  interesting  and  affecting  memorial  of  the  dis- 
tresses of  those  heroic  and  pious  men  who  won  this  fair  land  of  plenty,  freedom 
and  happiness,  and  yet,  at  times,  were  literally  in  want  of  a  morsel  of  bread. 
Baylies,  i.  121. 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  69 

ments,*  it  was  agreed,  in  the  spring  of  1623,  that  every 
family  should  plant  for  themselves,  on  such  ground  as 
should  be  assigned  to  them  by  lot,  without  any  division 
for  inheritance  ;f  and  that,  in  time  of  harvest,  a  competent 
portion  should  be  brought  into  the  common  store,  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  public  officers,  fishermen,  and  such 
other  persons  as  could  not  be  employed  in  agriculture. 
This  regulation  at  once  gave  a- spring  to  industry;  the 
women  and  children  cheerfully  went  to  work  with  the 
men  in  the  fields,  and  much  more  corn  was  planted 
than  ever  before.  Having  but  one  boat,  the  men  were 
divided  into  parties  of  six  or  seven,  who  took  their  turns 
to  catch  fish;  the  shore  afforded  them  shellfish,  and 
groundnuts  served  them  for  bread.  Whenever  a  deer  was 
killed,  the  flesh  was  divided  among  the  whole  colony. 
Water-fowl  came  in  plenty,  at  the  proper  season,  but  the 
want  of  boats  prevented  them  from  being  taken  in  great 
numbers.  Thus  they  subsisted  through  the  third  sum- 
mer, in  the  latter  end  of  which  two  vessels  arrived  with 
sixty  more  passengers.  J  But  the  harvest  was  plentiful, 
and,  after  this  time,  the  people  had  no  general  want  of 
food,  because  they  had  learned  to  depend  on  their  own 
exertions,  rather  than  on  foreign  supplies. 

The  combination  which  they  had  made  before  their 
landing  at  Cape  Cod,  was  the  first  foundation  of  their 
government ;  but  as  they  were  driven  to  this  expedient 
by  necessity,  it  was  intended  to  subsist  no  longer  than 

*  By  their  agreement  with  the  adventurers  in  England,  they  were  compelled 
to  put  the  produce  of  their  labors  into  a  common  stock.     See  page  17,  ante. 

t  Prince,  133.     Purchas,  iv.  1866. 

t  "The  best  dish  we  could  present  them  with,  is  a  lobster  or  piece  of  fish, 
without  bread  or  anything  else  but  a  cup  of  fair  spring  water."  Bradford,  in 
Prince,  140. 


70  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

until  they  could  obtain  legal  authority  from  their  sove- 
reign. As  soon  as  they  knew  of  the  establishment  of  the 
Council  of  New  England,*  they  applied  for  a  patent, 
which  was  taken  in  the  names  of  John  Pierce  and  others, 
in  trust  for  the  colony.f  When  Pierce  saw  that  the 
colonists  were  well  seated,  and  that  there  was  a  prospect 
of  success  to  their  undertaking,  he  went,  without  their 
knowledge,  but  in  their  names,  and  solicited  the  Council 
for  another  patent  of  greater  extent,  intending  to  keep 
it  to  himself,  and  to  allow  them  no  more  than  he  pleased, 
holding  them  as  his  tenants,  to  sue  and  be  sued  at  his 
courts.  In  pursuance  of  this  design,  having  obtained 
the  patent,  he  bought  a  ship,  which  he  named  the  Para- 
gon, loaded  her  with  goods,  took  on  board  upwards  of 
sixty  passengers,  and  sailed  from  London  for  the  colony 
of  New  Plymouth.  In  the  Downs,  he  was  overtaken  by 
a  tempest,  which  so  damaged  the  ship,  that  he  was  obliged 
to  put  her  into  dock,  where  she  lay  seven  weeks,  and  her 
repairs  cost  him  one  hundred  pounds.     In  December, 

*  Established  by  James  the  First,  November  3,  1620,  while  the  Pilgrims 
were  on  their  passage ;  and  styled  "  The  Council  established  at  Plymouth,  in 
the  county  of  Devon,  for  the  planting,  ordering,  and  governing  of  New  England 
in  America."     Hazard,  i.  103 — 118. 

t  This  patent,  which  Judge  Davis  supposes  to  have  been  sent  over  in  the 
Fortune,  in  November,  1621,  was  some  years  since  found  among  the  old  papers 
in  the  Land  Office  at  Boston.  It  is  dated  1st  June,  1621,  and  bears  the  seals 
and  signatures  of  the  Duke  of  Lenox,  the  Marquis  of  Hamilton,  the  Earl  of 
Warwick,  and  of  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges.  There  is  another  signature  so  ob- 
scurely written  as  to  be  illegible.  It  gave  to  the  patentee  and  his  associates 
one  hundred  acres  of  land  each,  and  one  hundred  for  each  person  settled  in  the 
proposed  colony,  to  be  taken  in  any  place  not  inhabited  by  the  English,  and 
subject  to  a  rent  to  the  council  of  two  shillings  for  every  hundred  acres ;  a  free 
fishery  also  was  given,  freedom  of  trade  with  England  and  the  Indians,  and 
authority  to  defend  them  by  force  of  arms  against  all  intruders.  It  does  not 
appear  what  use  was  made  of  this  patent  by  the  Plymouth  planters ;  it  was  not 
long  afterwards  superseded  by  the  second  patent  surreptitiously  obtained  by 
Pierce.     Davis'  Morton,  73,  363. 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  71 

1622,  he  sailed  a  second  time,  having  on  board  one  hun- 
dred and  nine  persons;  but  a  series  of  tempestuous 
weather,  which  continued  fourteen  days,  disabled  his 
ship,  and  forced  him  back  to  Portsmouth.  These  re- 
peated disappointments  proved  so  discouraging  to  Pierce, 
that  he  was  easily  prevailed  upon  by  the  company  of 
adventurers  to  assign  his  patent  to  them  for  five  hundred 
pounds.  The  passengers  came  over  in  other  ships.  Of 
Pierce,  little  is  known,  other  than  that  he  was  one  whose 
avarice  and  ambition  made  him  false  to  others.  An 
overruling  Providence,  however,  which  sooner  or  later 
stamps  disaster  upon  every  scheme  of  iniquity,  over- 
whelmed this  adventurer  in  calamities. 

For  several  years  after  this  time,  the  settlers  at  New 
Plymouth  were  subjected  to  new  difficulties,  which 
threatened  the  overthrow  of  the  colony.  The  company 
in  England  with  which  they  were  connected,  did  not 
supply  them  in  plenty.  Losses  had  been  sustained  at 
sea;  the  returns  were  not  adequate  to  their  expectations ; 
they  became  discouraged,  threw  many  reflections  on  the 
planters,  and  finally  refused  them  any  farther  supplies  ;* 
but  still  demanded  the  debt  due  from  them,  and  would 
not  permit  them  to  connect  themselves  in  trade  with  any 
other  persons.  The  planters  complained  to  the  Council 
of  New  England,  but  they  could  obtain  no  redress.  In 
1626,  they  sent  Isaac  Allerton  to  England,  Governor 
Bradford  and  others  of  the  principal  men  executing  to 
him  a  power  of  attorney,  to  bind  them  in  any  contract 
he  might  deem  it  proper  to  make  with  the  adventurers, 
on  their  behalf.  He  succeeded  in  obtaining  an  agree- 
ment from  the  forty-two  share-holders  in  England,  to. 

*  Bradford's  Letter  Book,  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  iii.  29,  36,  60. 


72  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

relinquish  all  their  rights  in  the  colony  for  the  sum  of 
£1800  sterling.  For  the  payment  of  this  sum,  eight  of 
the  principal  persons  in  the  colony,  with  four  of  their 
friends  in  London,  became  bound  in  the  following  year.* 
To  indemnify  them  against  pecuniary  loss,  the  settlers  in 

1628,  executed  to  the  undertakers,  a  release  of  the  entire 
trade  of  the  colony  for  s.ix  years.  "  We  thought  it  our 
safest  and  best  course,  (says  Governor  Bradford,)  to  come 
to  some  agreement  with  the  people,  to  have  the  whole 
trade  consigned  to  us  for  some  years,  and  so  in  that  time 
to  take  upon  us  to  pay  all  the  debts  and  set  them  free."f 

These  men  were  obliged  to  take  up  money  at  an  ex- 
orbitant interest,  and  to  go  deeply  into  trade  at  Kennebeck, 
Penobscot,  and  Connecticut;  by  which  means,  and  their 
own  great  industry  and  economy,  they  were  in  due  time 
enabled  to  discharge  the  debt,  and  pay  for  the  transpor- 
tation of  thirty-five  families  of  their  friends  from  Ley  den, 
who  arrived  in  1629. J 

In  1629,  another  patent,  of  larger  extent  than  that 
which  had  been  issued  to  Pierce  in  behalf  of  the  colony, 
was  solicited  by  Isaac  Allerton,  and  taken  out  in  the 
name  of  "  William  Bradford,  his  heirs,  associates,  and 
assigns. "§     This  patent  confirmed  their  title  (as  far  as 

*  The  names  of  the  undertakers  were  William  Bradford,  Miles  Standish, 
Isaac  Allerton,  Edward  Winslow,  William  Brewster,  John  Howland,  John 
Alden,  and  Thomas  Prence,  of  Nev;  Plymouth,  and  James  Shirley,  John  Beau- 
champ,  Richard  Andrews,  and  Timothy  Hatherly,  of  London. 

t  Bradford's  Letter  Book,  in  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  iii.  59. 

X  These  thirty-five  families,  says  Governor  Bradford,  "  we  were  fain  to  keep 
eighteen  months  at  our  charge,  ere  they  could  reap  any  harvest  to  live  upon ; 
all  which  together  fell  heavy  upon  us."     I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  iii.  58,  74. 

§  Hazard,  i.  298—303.     Prince,  196.     This  patent  was  dated  January  13th, 

1629.  Besides  confirming  their  title  to  their  lands,  this  charter  conferred  on 
them  liberty  to  fish,  to  trade  with  the  natives,  to  make  laws  not  contrary  to 
those  of  England,  and  to  "  seize  and  make  prize  of  all  who  attempt  to  inhabit 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  73 

the  crown  of  England  could  confirm  it)  to  a  tract  of 
land  bounded  on  the  east  and  south  by  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  and  by  lines  drawn  west  from  the  Rivulet  of 
Conohasset,  and  north  from  the  River  of  Narragansett, 
which  lines  meet  in  a  point,  comprehending  all  the 
country  called  Pokanoket.  To  this  tract  they  supposed 
they  had  a  prior  title,  from  the  depopulation  of  a  great 
part  of  it  by  a  pestilence,  from  the  gift  of  Massasoit,  his 
voluntary  subjection  to  the  crown  of  England,  and  his 
having  taken  protection  of  them.  In  a  declaration, 
published  by  them  in  1636,  they  asserted  their  "  lawful 
right  in  respect  of  vacancy,  donation,  and  purchase  of 
the  natives,"*  which  together  with  their  patent  from  the 
crown,  through  the  Council  of  New  England,  formed 
"  the  warrantable  ground  and  foundation  of  their  gov- 
ernment, of  making  laws  and  disposing  of  lands."f 

In  the  same  patent,  was  granted  a  large  tract  border- 
ing on  the  River  Kennebeck,  where  they  had  carried  on 

or  trade  with  the  natives  within  the  limits  of  their  plantation,  or  attempt  their 
detriment  or  annoyance."  The  original  patent,  signed  by  the  Earl  of  War- 
wick, as  President  of  the  Council,  is  preserved  in  the  office  of  the  Recorder  at 
Plymouth.  It  is  written  upon  parchment,  and  has  appended  the  Seal  of  the 
Plymouth  Company. 

*  Hazard,  i.  404. 

t  In  1639,  after  the  termination  of  the  Pequot  war,  Massasoit,  who  had  then 
changed  his  name  to  Woosamequen,  brought  his  son  Mooanam  to  Plymouth, 
and  desired  that  the  league  which  he  had  formerly  made  might  be  renewed  and 
made  inviolable.  The  sachem  and  his  son  voluntarily  promised,  "for  them- 
selves, and  their  successors,  that  they  would  not  needlessly  nor  unjustly  raise 
any  quarrels  or  do  any  wrong  to  other  natives  to  provoke  them  to  war  against 
the  colony  ;  and  that  they  would  not  give,  sell,  or  convey  any  of  their  lands, 
territories,  or  possessions  whatever,  to  any  person  or  persons  whomsoever, 
without  the  privity  or  consent  of  the  government  of  Plymouth,  other  than  to 
such  as  the  said  government  should  send  or  appoint  The  whole  court  did 
then  ratify  and  confirm  the  aforesaid  league,  and  premise  to  the  said  Woosame- 
quen, his  son  and  successors,  that  they  would  defend  them  against  all  such  as 
should  unjustly  rise  up  against  them,  to  wrong  or  oppress  them."  Morton, 
112,  113. 

10 


74  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

a  traffic  with  the  natives  for  furs,  as  they  did  also  at  Con- 
necticut River,  which  was  not  equally  beneficial,  be- 
cause they  there  had  the  Dutch  for  rivals.*  The  fur 
trade  was  found  to  be  much  more  advantageous  than  the 
fishery.  Sometimes  they  exchanged  corn  of  their  own 
growth  for  furs;  but  European  coarse  cloths,  hardware, 
and  ornaments,  were  good  articles  of  trade,  when  they 
could  command  them. 

The  patent  had  been  taken  in  the  name  of  Mr.  Brad- 
ford, in  trust  for  the  colony ;  and  the  event  proved  that 
their  confidence  was  not  misplaced.  When  the  num- 
ber of  people  was  increased,  and  new  townships  were 
erected,  the  General  Court,  in  1640,  requested  that  he 
would  surrender  the  patent  into  their  hands.  To  this 
he  readily  consented ;  and,  by  a  written  instrument,  under 
his  hand  and  seal,  surrendered  it  to  them,  reserving  for 
himself  no  more  than  his  proportion,  by  previous  agree- 
ment. This  was  done  in  open  court,  on  the  2d  March, 
1640,  and  the  patent  was  immediately  replaced  in  his 
hands  for  safe  keeping. f 

While  they  were  few  in  number,  the  whole  body  of 
associates  or  freemen  assembled  together  for  legislative, 
executive,  and  judicial  business.     In  1634,  the  governor 

*  The  patent  gave  to  the  colonists  at  Plymouth,  a  tract  of  fifteen  miles  on 
each  side  of  the  Kennebeck.  About  the  same  time  Mr.  Shirley  and  others  took 
out  a  patent  for  lands  on  the  Penobscot,  and  sent  out  Edward  Ashley,  one  of 
their  number,  to  superintend  their  operations  there.  In  this  enterprise,  those 
of  Plymouth  were  induced,  though  reluctantly,  to  join,  and  a  trading  house 
was  built.  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  iii.  70—74.  Winthrop,  i.  166.  This  establish- 
ment was  soon  after  taken  by  the  French,  who  retained  it,  in  spite  of  all  efforts 
to  dislodge  them,  till  1654.  The  trade  to  the  Kennebeck  seems  to  have  been 
quite  profitable.  "Our  neighbors  of  Plymouth,"  says  Governor  Winthrop, 
(Journal,  i.  138,)  "  had  great  trade  this  year  (1634)  at  Kennebeck,  so  as  Mr. 
Winslow  carried  with  him  to  England  about  twenty  hogsheads  of  beaver." 

t  Hazard,  i.  468. 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  75 

and  assistants  were  constituted  a  Judicial  Court,  and  after- 
wards the  Supreme  Judiciary  of  the  Colony.*  Petty 
offences,  and  actions  of  debt,  trespass,  and  damage,  not 
exceeding  forty  shillings,  were  tried  by  the  selectmen  of 
each  town,  with  liberty  of  appeal  to  the  next  Court  of 
Assistants.  The  first  Assembly  of  Representatives  was 
held  in  1639,  when  four  deputies  were  sent  from  Ply- 
mouth, and  two  from  each  of  the  other  towns. 

In  1649,  Plymouth  was  restricted  to  the  same  num- 
ber with  the  other  towns.  These  deputies  were  chosen 
by  the  freemen ;  and  none  were  admitted  to  the  privilege 
of  freemen  but  such  as  were  twenty-one  years  of  age,  of 
sober  and  peaceable  conversation,  orthodox  in  the  fun- 
damentals of  religion,  and  possessed  of  twenty  pounds 
rateable  estate. 

By  the  former  patent,  the  colony  of  Plymouth  was 
empowered  "  to  enact  such  laws  as  should  most  befit  a 
state  in  its  nonage,  not  rejecting  or  omitting  to  observe 
such  of  the  laws  of  their  native  country  as  would  conduce 
to  their  good."f  In  the  second  patent,  the  power  of 
government  was  granted  to  William  Bradford  and  his 
associates  in  the  following  terms.  J  "  To  frame  and  make 
orders,  ordinances,  and  constitutions,  as  well  for  the 
better  government  of  their  affairs  here  [in  England,]  and 
the  receiving  or  admitting  any  to  his  or  their  society,  as 
also  for  the  better  government  of  his  or  their  people  at 
sea,  in  going  thither  or  returning  from  thence ;  and  the 
same  to  be  put  in  execution  by  such  officers  and  minis- 
ters as  he  or  they  shall  authorize  and  depute ;  provided 
that  the  said  laws  be  not  repugnant  to  the  laws  of  Eng- 

*  Plymouth  Laws.     I  Preface  to  Plymouth  Laws,  by  Secretary  Morton. 
t  Hazard,  i.  302. 


76  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

land,  or  the  frame  of  government  by  the  said  president 
and  council  hereafter  to  be  established." 

From  the  first  planting  of  the  colonies,  a  general  gov- 
ernment over  the  whole  territory  of  New-England,  had 
been  a  favourite  object  with  the  council  which  granted 
these  several  patents;  but,  after  several  attempts,  it  finally 
miscarried,  to  the  no  small  joy  of  the  planters,  who  were 
then  at  liberty  to  govern  themselves.* 

In  June,  1635,  the  Council  of  Plymouth  surrendered 
the  Great  Charter  of  New  England  to  King  Charles. 
The  cry  of  monopoly  had  been  raised  in  parliament 
against  the  council,  and  the  high  church  party  inflamed  the 
growing  prejudice,  because  the  council  had  encouraged 
the  settlement  of  those  who  had  fled  from  persecution. 
This  event  created  great  apprehension  in  the  colony,  and 
we  accordingly  find,  soon  afterwards,  that  the  people  of 
New  Plymouth  met  in  a  body,  and  drew  up  a  Declara- 
tion of  Rights,  styled  "  The  General  Fundamentals," 
which  was  adopted  on  the  15th  November,  1636.  This 
Declaration  was  accompanied  by  a  statement  drawn  up 
with  signal  ability,  entitled  "  The  Warrantable  Grounds 

*  The  first  essay  for  the  establishment  of  a  general  government  was  in  1623, 
when  a  ship  commanded  by  Captain  Francis  West  came  to  New  Plymouth. 
West  "  had  a  commission  to  be  Admiral  of  New  England,  to  restrain  interlopers, 
and  such  fishing  ships  as  came  to  fish  and  trade  without  license";  but,  finding 
the  fishermen  "stubborn  fellows,"  he  sailed  away  to  Virginia.  Prince,  137. 
These  "stubborn  fellows"  complained  to  Parliament  of  this  attempt  to  extort 
money  from  them,  and  finally  procured  an  order  that  fishing  should  be  free. 
Morton,  47.  In  September,  1623,  a  second  attempt  was  made  to  establish  a 
government  over  all  the  New  England  settlements.  Capt.  Robert  Gorges,  son 
of  Sir  Ferdinando,  arrived  with  a  commission  to  be  "  Governor-general  of  the 
country."  Admiral  West,  Christopher  Levit,  and  others,  were  of  his  Council. 
But,  "finding  the  state  of  things  not  to  answer  to  his  quality  and  condition," 
he  abandoned  the  enterprise,  and  early  in  1624,  returned  to  England.  Morton, 
52.  Baylies,  i.  125.  Sir  F.  Gorges  was  appointed  in  1637,  governor-general 
of  New  England,  but  never  entered  upon  the  government.  See  Life  of  Gorges, 
in  Belknap's  Biog. 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  77 

and  Proceedings  of  the  first  Associates  of  New  Plymouth, 
in  their  laying  the  first  Foundation  of  this  Govern- 
ment," which  prefaces  the  printed  Laws. 

In  the  formation  of  the  laws  of  New  Plymouth, 
regard  was  had,  "  primarily  and  principally,  to  the  ancient 
platform  of  God's  law."  For,  though  some  parts  of  that 
system  were  peculiar  to  the  circumstances  of  the  sons 
of  Jacob,  yet,  "the  whole  being  grounded  on  principles 
of  moral  equity,"  it  was  the  opinion  of  the  first  planters, 
not  at  Plymouth  only,  but  in  Massachusetts,  New  Haven, 
and  Connecticut,  that  "all  men,  especially  Christians, 
ought  to  have  an  eye  to  it  in  the  framing  of  their  politi- 
cal constitutions."*  A  secondary  regard  was  had  to  the 
liberties  granted  to  them  by  their  sovereign,  and  the  laws 
of  England,  which  they  supposed  "  any  impartial  person 
might  discern,  in  the  perusal  of  the  book  of  the  laws  of 
the  colony." 

At  first  they  had  some  doubt  concerning  their  right 
to  inflict  capital  punishment.  A  murder  which  happened 
in  1630,  made  it  necessary  to  decide  this  question.  It 
was  decided  by  the  divine  law  against  shedding  human 
blood,  which  was  deemed  indispensable.  In  1636,  their 
Code  of  Laws  was  revised,  and  capital  crimes  were  enu- 
merated and  defined.  In  1671,  it  was  again  revised, 
and  the  next  year  printed,  with  this  title  :  "  The  Book 
of  the  General  Laws  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Jurisdiction 
of  New  Plymouth ;"  a  title  very  similar  to  the  codes  of 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  which  were  printed  at 
the  same  time,  by  Samuel  Green,  at  Cambridge. 

The  piety,  wisdom,  and  integrity  of  Mr.  Bradford 
were  such  prominent  features  in  his  character,  that  he 

*  Preface  to  Plymouth  Laws. 


78  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

was  annually  chosen  governor  as  long  as  he  lived,  except 
during  three  years,  when  Mr.  Winslow,  and  two  years, 
when  Mr.  Prence,  was  chosen  to  that  office ;  and  even 
then  Mr.  Bradford  was  appointed  the  first  or  senior  as- 
sistant, which  gave  him  the  rank  of  deputy-governor. 

In  the  year  1624,  the  number  of  assistants  was  in- 
creased to  five,  ancyn  1633  to  seven,  the  governor  having 
a  double  vote.  These  augmentations  were  made  at  the 
earnest  request  of  Governor  Bradford,  who  also  earnestly 
recommended  a  more  frequent  rotation  in  the  office  of 
governor.  He  repeatedly  sought  to  be  relieved  from  the 
office,  but  could  obtain  a  release  for  no  more  than  five  in 
a  period  of  thirty-five  years,  and  never  for  more  than  two 
years  in  succession.  His  argument  was,  "  that  if  it  were 
any  honor  or  benefit,  others  beside  himself  should  par- 
take of  it;  if  it  were  a  burden,  others  beside  himself 
should  help  to  bear  it."*  Notwithstanding  the  reasona- 
bleness and  equity  of  his  plea,  the  people  had  such  a 
strong  attachment  to  him,  and  confidence  in  him,  that 
they  could  not  be  persuaded  to  leave  him  out  of  the 
government. 

For  the  last  twelve  years  of  his  life,  Mr.  Bradford 
was  annually  chosen  without  interruption,  and  served  in 
the  office  of  governor.  His  health  continued  good  until 
the  autumn  of  the  year  1656,  when  it  began  to  decline, 
and  as  the  next  spring  advanced,  he  became  weaker,  but 
felt  not  any  acute  illness  until  the  beginning  of  May. 

On  the  8th  of  that  month,  after  great  suffering  at  its 
close,  he  became  so  elevated  with  the  idea  of  futurity,  that 

*  Morton,  p.  53.  In  1632,  a  law  was  passed,  imposing  a  penalty  of  £20,  on 
any  person  who  should  refuse  the  office  of  governor,  unless  chosen  two  years 
in  succession,  and  £10  upon  any  person  who  refused  to  serve  as  a  magistrate 
or  counsellor. 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  79 

he  exclaimed  to  his  friends,  in  the  following  morning, 
"  God  has  given  me  a  pledge  of  my  happiness  in  another 
world,  and  the  first  fruits  of  eternal  glory !"  The  next 
day,  being  the  ninth  of  May,  1657,  he  was  removed  from 
this  world  by  death,  in  the  sixty-ninth  year  of  his  age,  to 
the  great  loss  and  grief  of  the  people,  not  only  of  Ply- 
mouth, but  the  neighboring  colonies,  four  of  which  he 
lived  to  see  established,  beside  that  of  which  he  was  one 
of  the  principal  founders.* 

In  addition  to  what  has  been  said  of  Governor  Brad- 
ford's character,  it  may  be  observed  that  he  was  emi- 
nently a  practical  man,  of  a  strong  mind,  a  sound  judg- 
ment, and  a  good  memory.  Though  not  favoured  with 
a  liberal  education,  he  was* much  inclined  to  study  and 
investigation.  The  French  and  Dutch  languages  were 
familiar  to  him,  and  he  obtained  a  considerable  knowledge 
of  the  Latin  and  Greek ;  but  he  more  assiduously  studied 
the  Hebrew,  "  because,"  he  said,  "  he  would  see  with  his 
own  eyes  the  ancient  oracles  of  God  in  their  native 
beauty."f 

He  had  read  much  of  history  and  philosophy,  but 
theology  was  his  favorite  study.  He  was  able  to  man- 
age the  polemic  part  of  it  with  much  dexterity,  and  was 
particularly  vigilant  against  the  sectaries  which  infested 
the  colonies,  though  by  no  means  severe  or  intolerant,  as 
long  as  they  continued  peaceable ;  wishing  rather  to  foil 
them  by  argument,  and  guard  the  people  against  receiv- 
ing their  tenets,  than  to  suppress  them  by  violence,  or  cu-t 
them  off  by  the  sword  of  the  magistracy.     Mr.  Hub- 

*  These  four  colonies  were  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  Haven  and 
Rhode  Island. 

t  Mather's  Magnalia,  b.  ii.  c.  1. 


80  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

bard's  character  of  him  is,  that  he  was  "a  person  of 
great  gravity  and  prudence,  of  sober  principles,  and,  for 
one  of  that  persuasion,  (Brownists,)  very  pliable,  gentle, 
and  condescending." 

Governor  Bradford  wrote  "  A  History  of  Plymouth 
People  and  Colony,"  beginning  with  the  first  formation 
of  the  church  in  1602,  and  ending  in  1646.  It  was  con- 
tained in  a  folio  volume  of  270  pages.  Morton's  Me- 
morial is  an  abridgment  of  it.  Prince  and  Hutchinson 
had  the  use  of  it,  and  the  manuscript  was  carefully  de- 
posited, with  Mr.  Prince's  valuable  Collection  of  Papers, 
in  the  library  of  the  Old  South  Church  in  Boston,  which 
fell  a  sacrifice  to  the  fury  of  the  British  army  in  the  year 
1775.*  He  also  had  a  large  book  of  copies  of  letters 
relative  to  the  affairs  of  the  colony,  a  fragment  of  which 
was,  a  few  years  ago,  recovered  by  accident,!  and  pub- 
lished by  the  Historical  Society  of  Massachusetts.!  To 
this  fragment  is  subjoined  another,  being  a  "  Descriptive 
and  Historical  Account  of  New  England,"  written  in 
verse,  which,  if  it  be  not  graced  with  the  charms  of 
poetry,  yet  is  a  just  and  affecting  narrative,  intermixed 
with  pious  and  useful  reflections. 

*  "The  most  important  part  of  this  lost  History,  I  have  had  the  good  for- 
tune to  recover.  On  a  visit  to  Plymouth  a  few  years  since,  I  found  in  the  Re- 
cords of  the  First  Church,  a  narrative,  in  the  handwriting  of  Secretary  Morton, 
which,  on  comparing  it  with  the  large  extracts  in  Hutchinson  and  Prince,  I 
recognized  as  the  identical  History  of  Governor  Bradford;  a  fact  put  beyond 
all  doubt  by  a  marginal  note  of  Morton,  in  which  he  says  "  This  was  originally 
penned  by  Mr.  William  Bradford,  governor  of  Ncid  Plymouth."  This  fact  of 
the  real  authorship  of  the  document  seems  to  have  escaped  the  observation  of 
all  who  had  preceded  me  in  examining  the  records."  Rev.  A.  Young,  Pref. 
to  Chronicles  of  the  Pilgrims,  published  in  1841. 

t  This  Letter  Book  was  accidentally  seen  in  a  grocer's  shop  at  Halifax,  Nova 
Scotia,  by  James  Clark,  Esq.,  a  corresponding  member  of  the  Massachusetts. 
Historical  Society,  and  by  him  transmitted  to  Boston. 

t  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  iii.  27—76. 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 


1 


In  Morton's  Memorial;  144,  are  preserved  "  Certain 
Verses,  left  by  Governor  Bradford,  declaring  the  gracious 
dispensation  of  God's  Providence  towards  him  in  the 
time  of  his  Life,  and  his  preparation  and  fittedness  for 
Death."  They  may  be  of  interest  to  the  curious  in  such 
matters : 

"  From  my  years  young  in  dayes  of  Youth, 
God  did  make  known  to  me  his  Truth, 
And  call'd  me  from  my  Native  place 
For  to  enjoy  the  Means  of  Grace. 
In  Wilderness  he  did  me  guide, 
And  in  strange  Lands  for  me  provide. 
In  Fears  and  Wants,  through  Weal  and  Woe, 
As  Pilgrim  pass'd  I  to  and  fro ; 
Oft  left  of  them  whom  I  did  trust — 
How  vain  it  is  to  rest  on  Dust ! 
A  Man  of  Sorrows  I  have  been, 
And  many  Changes  I  have  seen. 
Wars,  Wants,  Peace,  Plenty,  have  I  known ; 
And  some  advanc'd,  others  thrown  down. 
The  humble,  poor,  cheerful,  and  glad, 
Rich,  discontent,  sower  and  sad  : 
When  Fears  with  Sorrows  have  been  mixt, 
Consolations  came  betwixt. 
Faint  not,  poor  Soul,  in  God  still  trust, 
Fear  not  the  things  thou  suffer  must; 
For  whom  he  loves,  he  doth  chastise, 
And  then  all  Tears  wipes  from  their  eyes. 
Farewell,  dear  Children,  whom  I  love, 
Your  better  Father  is  above  : 
When  I  am  gone,  he  can  supply ; 
To  him  I  leave  you  when  I  dye. 
Fear  him  in  Truth,  walk  in  his  Wayes, 
And  he  will  bless  you  all  your  dayes. 
My  days  are  spent,  Old  Age  is  come, 
My  Strength  it  fails,  my  Glass  near  run ; 
Now  I  will  wait,  when  work  is  done, 
Until  my  happy  Change  shall  come, 
When  from  my  labors  I  shall  rest 
WHh  Christ  above,  for  to  be  blest." 

Of  a  like  strain  are  the  lines  referred  to  in  the  follow- 
ing extract  from  Gov.  Bradford's  will :  "  I  commend  unto 
your  wisdom  and  discretion,  some  small  bookes  written  by 
11 


82  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

my  own  hand,  to  be  improved  as  you  shall  see  meet.  In 
special,  I  commend  to  you  a  little  booke  with  a  blacke 
cover,  wherein  there  is  A  Word  to  Plymouth,  A  Word 
to  Boston,  and  a  Word  to  New  England,  with  sundry 
useful  verses."* 

Besides  these,  he  wrote,  as  Dr.  Mather  says,  u  some 
significant  things,  for  the  confutation  of  the  errors  of 
the  time,  by  which  it  appears  that  he  was  a  person  of  a 
good  temper,  and  free  from  that  rigid  spirit  of  separation 
which  broke  the  Separatists  to  pieces." 

Young,  in  his  Chronicles  of  the  Pilgrims,  supposes 
that  the  invaluable  historical  work,  usually  cited  as 
Mourt's  Relation,  printed  in  1622,  and  containing  a  mi- 
nute diary  of  events  from  the  arrival  of  the  Mayflower 
at  Cape  Cod,  Nov.  9,  1620,  to  the  return  of  the  Fortune, 
Dec.  11,  1621 — was  in  fact  the  production  of  Bradford 
and  Winslow,  chiefly  of  the  former.  Young  has  also 
published  in  his  Chronicles,  copied  from  the  Plymouth 
Church  Records,  into  which  it  was  transcribed  by  Secre- 
tary Morton,  "A  Dialogue,  or  the  Sum  of  a  Conference 
between  some  Young  Men,  born  in  New  England,  and 
sundry  Ancient  Men,  that  came  out  of  Holland  and  Old 
England,  anno  domini,  1648."  It  is  an  interesting  docu- 
ment, and  is  probably  one  of  those  "  significant"  papers 
above  referred  to  by  Cotton  Mather. f 

In  his  executive  office,  Governor  Bradford  was  pru- 
dent, temperate,  and  firm.  He  would  suffer  no  person 
to  trample  on  the  laws,  or  disturb  the  peace.  During 
his  administration,  there  were   frequent  accessions  of 

*  These  verses,  published  from  the  original  MS.,  may  be  found  in  IIT  Mass. 
Hist.  Coll.,  vii.  37. 

t  See  Young's  Chronicles  of  the  Pilgrims,  7,  113,  115,  409. 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  83 

new  inhabitants,  some  of  whom  were  at  first  refractory, 
but  his  wisdom  and  fortitude  obliged  them  to  pay  a 
decent  respect  to  the  laws  and  customs  of  the  country. 
One  particular  instance  is  mentioned.  A  company  of 
young  men,  newly  arrived,  were  very  unwilling  to  comply 
with  the  governor's  order  for  working  on  the  public 
account.  On  a  Christmas  day,  they  excused  themselves 
under  the  pretence,  "  that  it  was  against  their  consciences 
to  work."  The  governor  gave  them  no  other  answer, 
than  that  he  would  let  them  alone  till  they  should  be 
better  informed.  In  the  course  of  the  day,  he  found 
them  at  play  in  the  street,  and,  commanding  the  instru- 
ments of  their  game  to  be  taken  from  them,  he  told  them 
that  it  was  against  his  conscience  to  suffer  them  to  play, 
while  others  were  at  work,  and  that,  if  they  had  any 
religious  regard  for  the  day,  they  should  show  it  in  the 
exercise  of  devotion  at  home.  This  gentle  reproof  had 
the  desired  effect,  and  prevented  the  necessity  of  a  repe- 
tition. 

The  first  offence  punished  in  the  colony,  was  that  of 
John  Billington,  who  was  charged  with  contempt  of  the 
captain^s  lawful  commands,  while  on  board  the  Mayflower. 
He  was  tried  by  the  whole  company,  and  was  sentenced 
to  have  his  neck  and  heels  tied  together;  but  on  hum- 
bling himself,  and  craving  pardon,  he  was  released. 
This  same  Billington,  however,  in  1630,  waylaid  and 
murdered  one  John  Newcomen,  for  some  affront,  and 
was  tried  and  executed  in  October  of  that  year.  Gover- 
nor Bradford  says — "  We  took  all  due  means  about  his 
trial;  he  was  found  guilty,  both  by  grand  and  petit  jury; 
and  we  took  advice  of  Mr.  Winthrop  and  others,  the 
ablest  gentlemen  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  who  all  con- 


84 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 


curred  with  us;  that  he  ought  to  die,  and  the  land  be 
purged  from  blood."* 

*  A  prior  execution  for  felony,  took  place  at  Wessagusset,  (Weymouth,)  in 
1622.  This  rival  settlement,  which  was  commenced  at  that  place  under  the 
auspices  of  Thomas  Weston,  a  London  merchant,  was  composed  in  part  of  out- 
casts and  profligates,  who  being  soon  reduced  to  a  state  of  starvation,  com- 
menced thieving  among  the  Indians.  The  natives  complained  to  the  governor 
of  Plymouth,  and  at  length  became  so  exasperated  by  repeated  outrages,  that 
the  authorities  were  obliged  to  interfere  in  earnest,  to  appease  the  Indians ;  and 
one  of  the  most  notorious  offenders  was  arrested  and  hung.  A  waggish  report 
became  current  soon  after,  that  the  real  offender  was  spared,  and  that  a  poor 
decrepid  old  man,  who  could  no  longer  be  of  service  to  the  colony,  was  hung 
in  his  stead  !  "  Upon  this  story,"  says  Hubbard,  "  the  merry  gentleman  that 
wrote  the  poem  called  Hudibras,  did,  in  his  poetical  fancy,  make  so  much 
sport." 


'Though  nice  and  dark  the  point  appear, 
(Quoth  Ralph,)  it  may  hold  up,  and  clear. 
That  Sinners  may  supply  the  place 
Of  suffering  Saints,  is  a  plain  Case. 
Justice  gives  Sentence,  many  times, 
On  one  Man  for  another's  crimes. 
Our  Brethren  of  New-England  use 
Choice  Malefactors  to  excuse, 
And  hang  the  Guiltless  in  their  stead, 
Of  whom  the  Churches  have  Ie9s  need  : 
As  lately  't  happened:  In  a  town 
There  lived  a  Cobbler,  and  hut  one, 
That  out  of  Doctrine  could  cut,  Use, 
And  mend  Men's  Lives,  as  well  as  Shoes. 
This  precious  Brother  having  slain 
In  time  of  Peace,  an  Indian, 
(Not  out  of  Malice,  but  mere  Zeal, 


Because  he  was  an  infidel,) 
The  mighty  Totlipottymoy 
Sent  to  our  Elders  an  Envoy, 
Complaining  sorely  of  the  Breach 
Of  League,  held  forth  by  brother  Patch, 
Against  the  Articles  in  force, 
Between  both  churches,  his  and  ours; 
For  which  he  craved  the  Saints  to  render 
Into  his  Hands,  or  hang  th'  Offender: 
But  they,  maturely  having  weigh'd, 
They  had  no  more  but  him  o'  th'  trade ; 
(A  Man  that  served  them  in  a  double 
Capacity,  to  Teach  and  Cobble,) 
Resolv'd  to  spare  him ;  yet  to  do 
The  Indian  Hoghan  Moghan,  too, 
Impartial  Justice,  in  his  stead,  did 
Hang  an  Old  Weaver  that  was  bedrid." 

Vide  Hudibras,  Part  II.)  canto  2. 


The  story  is  here  most  ridiculously  caricatured,  as  a  slur  upon  the  churches  of 
New  England.  Neal  says,  "  that  he  [Weston]  obtained  a  patent  under  pretence 
of  propagating  the  discipline  of  the  Church  of  England  in  America."  Hist.  N.  E., 
ch.  iii.  p.  102.  But  it  does  not  appear  that  the  people  of  Weston's  plantation 
had  any  church  at  all;  they  were  a  set  of  needy  adventurers,  intent  only  on 
gaining  a  subsistence. 

Hubbard  seriously  undertakes  to  contradict  the  story,  and  yet  does  so  with 
a  qualification,  that  would  not  have  deprived  the  poet  of  an  illusion  so  conge- 
nial to  his  purpose  ;  for  he  admits  that  "  it  is  possible,  that  justice  might  be 
executed,  not  on  him  that  most  deserved  it,  but  on  him  that  could  best  be  spared, 
or  who  was  not  likely  to  live  long,  if  he  had  been  let  alone."  Davis'  Morton. 
This  story  was  first  put  in  circulation  by  Thomas  Morton,  author  of  the  "  New 
English  Canaan  ;"  but  he  mentions  the  fact  only  as  a  proposal,  which  was  not 
agreed  to,  and  adds,  that  the  guilty  man,  in  fact,  was  the  one  who  was  finally 
executed.    See  New  English  Canaan,  p.  74,  in  Force's  Historical  Tracts,  vol.  2. 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  85 

The  first  duel  and  second  offence  that  took  place  in 
the  colony,  was  between  two  servants  of  Stephen  Hop- 
kins. They  fought  with  sword  and  dagger,  and  were 
both  slightly  wounded. — They  were  arraigned  for  the  of- 
fence, on  the  18th  June,  1621,  before  the  governor  and 
company  for  trial,  and  were  sentenced  to  have  their  heads 
and  feet  tied  together,  and  to  remain  in  that  position  for 
twenty-four  hours.  After  an  hour's  endurance  of  this 
novel  punishment,  these  men  of  valour  begged  for  a  re- 
lease, and  the  governor  set  them  at  liberty. 

His  conduct  towards  intruders  and  false  friends  was 
equally  moderate,  but  firm  and  decisive.  John  Lyford 
had  imposed  himself  upon  the  colony  as  a  minister  of 
the  gospel,  having  been  recommended  by  some  of  the 
adventurers  in  England.  At  first  his  behaviour  was  plau- 
sible, and  he  was  treated  with  respect;  but  it  was  not 
long  before  he  began,  in  concert  with  John  Oldham,  to 
organize  a  faction.  Governor  Bradford's  suspicions  of 
these  men  were  first  aroused  by  the  marked  servility  of 
their  conduct.  He  had  admitted  them  to  the  councils  of 
the  colony,  and  treated  them  with  high  consideration, 
while  they  were  plotting  mischief,  and  concocting  false- 
hoods against  the  government.  Governor  Bradford,  nar- 
rowly watching  their  proceedings,  at  the  very  moment 
when  they  had  got  their  letters  on  board  a  vessel  just 
ready  to  sail,  and,  as  they  supposed,  had  successfully  ar- 
ranged the  scheme  which  was  to  place  them  at  the  head 
of  affairs  in  the  colony — took  the  decisive  step  which 
exposed  their  perfidy.  He  followed  the  ship  to  sea  in  a 
boat,  and  by  favor  of  the  master,  who  was  a  friend  of 
the  colony,  he  intercepted  their  letters,  and,  on  opening, 
found  them  filled  with  the  most  base  and  calumnious 


S6  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

charges  against  both  church  and  state  in  the  new  colony. 
These  men,  unaware  of  the  secret  in  possession  of  the 
governor,  soon  began  to  put  on  new  airs.  Lyford,  in 
open  defiance  of  the  authorities,  set  up  a  separate  meet- 
ing on  the  Sabbath,  and  undertook  to  administer  the 
sacrament.  Oldham  became  obstreperous — derided  the 
existing  magistrates — and  when  summoned  to  take  his 
turn  at  the  customary  military  watch,  he  insolently  re- 
fused compliance,  and,  getting  into  some  dispute  with 
Capt.  Standish,  drew  his  knife  upon  him.  For  this 
outrage,  Oldham  was  immediately  seized  and  placed  in 
confinement. 

Governor  Bradford  now  summoned  a  court  of  the 
whole  body  of  freemen,  to  consider  the  conduct  of  these 
offenders.  He  charged  Lyford  and  Oldham  with  plot- 
ting the  overthrow  of  the  colony,  and  with  having  sent 
home  the  most  cruel  and  unmanly  accusations  against 
rulers  and  people.  They  boldly  denied  the  charge,  and 
demanded  the  proof.  Governor  Bradford  then  rose  and 
addressed  them,  before  the  assembly,  on  the  origin  and 
objects  of  the  pilgrims  in  coming  to  the  New  World — 
adverting  with  emphasis  and  feeling  to  the  perfidy  of 
those,  who,  having  since  arrived  and  shared  the  hospital- 
ity and  privileges  of  the  little  community,  were  now  en- 
gaged in  plotting  their  destruction.  Lyford  persisted  in 
denying  the  charge.  On  this,  the  governor,  who  could 
refrain  no  longer,  produced  the  letters,  which  established 
the  overwhelming  truth  of  the  accusations  he  had  made 
The  offenders  were  forthwith  tried,  convicted,  made  a 
full  confession  of  their  misconduct,  and  were  expelled 
the  plantation.  After  much  importunity,  Lyford  was 
allowed   six   months   for   probation ;  but  his  pretences 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  87 

proved  hypocritical,  and  he  was  ultimately  obliged  to  de- 
part.    After  several  removals.,  he  died  in  Virginia.* 

Oldham  having  returned  after  banishment,  his  second 
expulsion  was  conducted  in  this  singular  manner :  u  A 
guard  of  musketeers  was  appointed,  through  which  he 
was  obliged  to  pass ;  every  one  was  ordered  to  give  him 
a  blow  on  the  hinder  parts  with  the  butt  end  of  his  mus- 
ket; then  he  was  conveyed  to  the  water  side,  where  a  boat 
was  ready  to  carry  him  away,  with  this  farewell,  Go,  and 
mend  your-  manners."  This  discipline  had  a  good  effect 
on  him ;  he  made  his  submission,  and  was  afterwards 
freely  allowed  to  come  and  go  on  trading  voyages. f 

*  This  man  came  to  New  England  in  1624.  Bradford  says  he  was  "  sent  by 
a  faction  of  the  adventurers  to  hinder  Mr.  Robinson."  Prince,  148.  Mr. 
Cushman,  in  a  letter  dated  at  London,  January  24th,  speaks  of  him  as  "  a 
preacher,  though  not  the  most  eminent,  for  whose  going  Mr.  Winslow  and  I 
gave  way,  to  give  content  to  some  at  London."  Complaint  having  been  made 
in  England  of  the  proceedings  against  Lyford,  Mr.  Winslow  made  such  dis- 
closures of  his  conduct  while  in  Ireland,  "for  which  he  had  been  forced  to 
leave  that  kingdom,  as  struck  all  his  friends  mute."  Prince,  153.  He  was 
finally  condemned  by  the  adventurers  as  unfit  for  the  ministry.  He  went  from 
Plymouth  to  Nantasket,  thence  to  Cape  Ann,  and  afterwards  to  Virginia,  where 
he  died. 

t  Morton,  59.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  faults  of  Oldham  were  some- 
what exaggerated.  The  accounts  given  by  Bradford  and  others,  shew  that  he 
had  rendered  himself  very  obnoxious.  He  is  represented  to  have  been  a  man 
of  enterprise  and  courage,  but  of  an  ungovernable  temper.  Savage,  in  a  note 
to  Winthrop,  i.  80,  says  he  was  probably  "  less  disposed  to  overlook  this  world,, 
in  his  regard  for  the  next,  than  most  of  his  neighbors."  He  went  to  Nantas- 
ket, where  he  remained  until  his  sentence  of  banishment  was  in  effect  remitted. 
And  we  find  that  he  was  so  far  restored  to  the  affections  of  the  first  colonists,  as 
to  be  entrusted  with  their  letters  to  England,  in  June,  1628,  when  Thomas  Mor- 
ion was  sent  home  a  prisoner.  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  iii.  63.  After  the  settle- 
ment of  Massachusetts,  Oldham  removed  to  Watertown,  and  was  till  his  death, 
held  in  high  respect  by  a  people  whose  standard  of  morals  was  graduated  by  a 
more  rigid  rule  than  that  of  their  Plymouth  neighbors,  and  who  subjected  the- 
characters  of  men  to  severer  tests  than  were  practised  in  the  elder  colony. 
Oldham  was  the  deputy  from  Watertown  in  1632,  in  the  first  general  court  of 
Massachusetts,  to  which  deputies  from  the  towns  were  summoned.  He  was  a: 
daring  trader  amongst  the  Indians,  and  so  great  was  the  attachment  of  the 
Narragansetts  to  him,  that  they  gave  him  an  island  in  the  bay,  (now  called 


88  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

Governor  Bradford  was  twice  married.  His  first 
wife  was  Dorothy  May,  who  came  with  him  in  the  May- 
flower, and  on  the  7th  of  December,  1620,  accidentally 
fell  from  the  vessel  into  the  sea,  and  was  drowned.  By 
her  Mr.  Bradford  had  one  son,  John,  who  lived  at  Dux- 
bury  in  1662,  and  of  whom  there  is  only  the  traditionary 
account,  that  he  perished  at  sea. 

The  maiden  name  of  Governor  Bradford's  second 
wife,  was  Alice  Carpenter,  a  lady  of  extraordinary  ca- 
pacity and  worth.  It  is  said  that  an  early  attachment 
existed  between  Mr.  Bradford  and  this  lady,  and  that 
their  marriage  was  prevented  by  her  parents,  on  account 
of  his  inferior  circumstances  and  rank.  Being  now  a 
widower,  Governor  Bradford,  by  letters  to  England, 
made  overtures  of  marriage  to  Mrs.  Southworth,  who 
was  then  a  widow.  She  accepted  his  proposal,  and  with 
a  generous  resolution,  she  embarked  in  1623,  to  meet 
her  intended  partner, — knowing  that  he  could  not  well 
leave  his  responsible  station  in  the  new  settlement. 
Her  two  sons,  Thomas  and  Constant  Southworth,  the 
younger  of  whom  was  only  six  years  of  age,  came  over 
with  her,  and  she  brought  a  handsome  estate  into  the 
country.  Her  marriage  with  Governor  Bradford  took 
place  on  the  14th  of  August,  1623.  She  died  in  March, 
1670,  aged  80  years.     Their  children  were, 

1.  William,  born  17th  June,  1624,  who  was  represen- 
tative in  1657,  assistant  in  1658,  and  deputy  governor  of 
Plymouth  colony  for  many  years.  He  was  chief  mili- 
tary commander,  with  the  title  of  major,  and  was  an 

Prudence)  to  induce  him  to  settle  near  them.  Sometime  after,  while  on  a  trad- 
ing voyage  to  Manisses,  (Block  Island,)  he  was  killed  in  a  quarrel  with  the 
Indians,  which  act  was  one  of  the  causes  of  the  Pequot  war.     Baylies,  i.  133. 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  89 

active  officer  in  Philip's  war.  He  was  one  of  the  coun- 
cil of  Andros,  in  1687.  He  was  thrice  married.  His 
first  wife  was  Alice  Richards,  who  died  in  1671,  at  the 
age  of  44,  by  whom  he  had  four  sons,  John,  William, 
Thomas,  and  Samuel.  His  second  wife  was  a  Wiswell, 
by  whom  he  had  one  son,  Joseph,  who  removed  to  Con- 
necticut. His  third  wife  was  Mrs.  Mary  Holmes,  widow 
of  Rev.  John  Holmes,  of  Duxbury,  by  whom  he  had 
four  sons,  Israel,  Ephraim,  David,  and  Hezekiah.  She 
died  the  year  after  Major  Bradford.  By  his  will,  it  ap- 
pears that  he  left  nine  sons  and  six  daughters — a  noble 
legacy  for  a  new  territory. 

2.  Mercy,  the  only  daughter  of  Governor  Bradford, 
married  Benjamin  Vermaes,  of  whom  I  find  no  other 
notice  than  that  he  was  admitted  a  freeman,  18th  of  May, 
1642. 

3.  Joseph,  who  married  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Peter 
Hobart,  of  Hingham,  lived  near  Jones'  River  in  Ply- 
mouth, and  died  10th  July,  1715,  in  the  85th  year  of 
his  age,  leaving  one  son  by  the  name  of  Elisha.  A 
grand-daughter  of  his  married  a  Mr.  Waters,  of  Sharon, 
and  one  of  her  descendants,  Asa  Waters,  of  Stoughton, 
Massachusetts,  possesses  the  Governor's  family  Bible, 
printed  in  1592,  which  contains  a  written  list  of  the  family 
of  Elisha  Bradford,  son  of  Joseph,  and  grandson  of 
Governor  Bradford. 

Thomas  Southworth,  step-son  of  Governor  Bradford, 
was  chosen  an  assistant  in  1652,  was  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  United  Colonies  in  1659,  1662,  and  1664. 
He  died  at  Plymouth,  8  Nov.  1669,  aged  53.  He  mar- 
ried his  cousin  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John 
Reyner,  the  minister  of  Plymouth. 
12 


90  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

Constant  Southworth,  the  other  step-son  of  Governor 
Bradford,  was  the  elder  of  the  two  brothers,  although  the 
younger  took  precedence  in  public  employment.  He 
married  a  daughter  of  William  Collier,  of  Plymouth,  in 
1637.  He  was  a  deputy  from  Duxbury,  in  1649,  and  in 
several  other  years;  treasurer  of  the  colony  from  1659  to 
1678,  and  often  one  of  the  assistants.  In  the  early  part 
of  Philip's  war,  he  was  commissary-general,  and  accom- 
panied the  army.  The  famous  warrior  Church  was  his 
son-in-law.     He  died  at  Duxbury,  in  1678. 

The  name  of  Bradford,  has  long  been  distinguished 
in  the  annals  of  New  England.  Samuel  Bradford,  the 
third  son  of  William,  and  grandson  of  Governor  Brad- 
ford, settled  at  Duxbury.  He  had  three  sons,  Perez, 
Gershom,  and  Gamaliel.  Gamaliel  was  a  colonel  of  mi- 
litia, representative,  a  counsellor  from  1763  to  1771,  and 
for  many  years  judge  of  the  common  pleas  for  the  county 
of  Plymouth.  His  second  son,  Gamaliel,  was  a  captain 
in  the  French  wars  under  Shirley  and  Pepperell,  and 
a  colonel  in  the  continental  army  from  1776  to  1783. 
He  was  the  father  of  the  Hon.  Alden  Bradford,  late 
Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  and 
author  of  some  highly  valuable  publications  illustrating 
the  history  of  New  England.  Alden  Bradford,  LL.  D. 
was  born  at  Duxbury,  in  1765,  He  graduated  at  Har- 
vard College,  in  1786,  and  was  Tutor  in  that  institution 
three  years.  He  then  studied  theology,  and  in  1793, 
was  settled  in  the  ministry  at  Wiscasset,  Maine.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1801,  his  health  failing,  he  was  compelled  to 
resign  his  charge,  and  he  returned  to  Massachusetts. 
He  was  soon  after  appointed  Clerk  of  the  Supreme  Ju- 
dicial Court,  which  office  he  held  for  ten  years.     He  was 


WILLIAM    BRADFORD.  91 

elected  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  in  1812,  and 
continued  in  that  office  until  1824.  He  died  in  Boston, 
on  the  26th  October,  1843,  aged  78. 

John,  the  eldest  son  of  the  deputy  governor,  is  fre- 
quently mentioned  in  the  Plymouth  records,  as  selectman 
and  on  various  committees;  and  in  1692,  he  was  deputy, 
or  representative  from  Plymouth  to  the  general  court. 
He  married  Mercy  Warren,  daughter  of  Joseph  Warren. 
Their  children  were  John,  Alice,  Abigail,  Mercy,  Samuel, 
Priscilla,  and  William.  He  died  December  8th,  1736, 
in  the  eighty-fourth  year  of  his  age.  Mercy,  his  widow, 
died  1747,  in  her  ninety-fourth  year.  Lieut.  Samuel 
Bradford,  son  of  the  first  mentioned  John  Bradford, 
married  Sarah  Gray,  daughter  of  Edward  Gray  of  Tiv- 
erton, Rhode  Island,  and  grand-daughter  of  Edward 
Gray  of  Plymouth.  Their  issue  were  John,  Gideon, 
William,  who  died  young,  Mary,  Sarah,  William,  Mercy, 
who  died  young,  Abigail,  Phebe,  and  Samuel.  The 
aforesaid  Lieut.  Samuel  Bradford,  lived  and  died  in 
Plympton,  1740,  aged  fifty-six  years.  His  widow  mar- 
ried William  Hunt,  of  Martha's  Vineyard,  and  died  in 
1770.  The  Hon.  William  Bradford,  late  of  Bristol, 
Rhode  Island,  was  a  son  of  the  above  Samuel  Bradford. 
He  was  born  at  Plympton,  Nov.  4th,  1729,  and  died  6th 
July,  1808.  In  the  revolutionary  contest,  he  took  a 
decided  part  in  favour  of  the  rights  of  the  colonies.  In 
the  cannonade  of  Bristol,  on  the  evening  of  Oct.  7,  1775, 
by  the  British  vessels  of  war,  the  Rose,  Glasgow,  and 
Swan,  he  went  on  board  the  Rose,  and  negotiated  for 
the  inhabitants.  About  this  time,  his  own  house  was  de- 
stroyed by  the  enemy.  He  was  afterwards  deputy  gov- 
ernor of  Rhode  Island,  speaker  of  the  house  of  representa~ 


92  WILLIAM    BRADFORD. 

tives,  and  a  senator  in  Congress.  His  eldest  son,  Major 
William  Bradford.,  was  aid  to  Gen.  Charles  Lee,  of  the 
revolutionary  army.  His  residence  was  near  the  cele- 
brated Mount  Hope,  and  the  story  of  King  Philip,  the 
aboriginal  proprietor,  was  familiar  to  his  mind.  His  de- 
scendants are  numerous. 

Dr.  Dwight,  after  visiting  the  old  cemetery  upon 
Burial  Hill  in  Plymouth,  in  1800,  and  finding  there  no 
monument  marking  the  resting-places  of  Governors  Brad- 
ford and  Carver,  and  no  grave-stone  of  an  earlier  date 
than  1681,  laments  that  the  precise  spot  where  either 
was  buried  cannot  be  ascertained.  The  grave  of  Carver 
remains  without  a  monument;  but  over  the  spot  where 
Bradford  is  supposed  to  have  been  buried,  a  suitable 
monument  was  erected  in  May,  1825,  by  some  of  his 
worthy  descendants. 

Among  the  puritan  relics  which  have  been  preserved, 
and  are  now  regarded  as  objects  of  great  curiosity,  are 
several  antique  arm  chairs;  one  belonging  to  Governor 
Winslow,  and  preserved  in  the  Hall  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society  at  Boston,  a  second  belonging  to  Gov- 
ernor Carver,  and  a  third  belonging  to  Elder  Brewster, 
preserved  in  Pilgrim  Hall  at  Plymouth,  and  the  fourth 
belonging  to  Governor  Bradford.  Of  the  three  first, 
engravings  are  given  by  Young  in  the  Chronicles  of  the 
Pilgrims.  Governor  Bradford's  chair  was  used  by  the 
presiding  officer  of  the  Old  Colony  Club,  established  at 
Plymouth,  in  1769.  It  reverted  to  the  heirs  of  Dr.  L. 
Le  Baron,  on  the  dissolution  of  the  Club,  and  is  now  pre- 
served by  the  family  of  N.  Russell,  Esq.,  of  Plymouth, 


93 


III.     EDWARD   WINSLOW. 

This  eminently  useful  person  was  the  eldest  son  of  a 
gentleman  of  the  same  name,  of  Droitwich,  in  Worces- 
tershire, England,  where  he  was  born  on  the  19th  Oc- 
tober, 1595.*  Of  his  education  and  first  appearance  in 
life,  we  have  no  certain  knowledge.  He  appears,  how- 
ever, to  have  been  an  educated  and  accomplished  man. 
In  the  course  of  his  travels  on  the  continent  of  Europe, 
he  went  to  Leyden,  and  there  became  acquainted  with 
Mr.  Robinson,  and  the  church  under  his  pastoral  charge. 
To  this  church  he  joined  himself  as  early  as  the  year 
1617;  married  about  the  same  time,  and  settled  in  that 
city,  where  he  remained  until  the  church  had  decided  upon 
a  removal  to  America.  He  resolved  to  share  their  for- 
tunes, and  accordingly  came  hither  with  the  first  company 
of  emigrants  in  1620.  His  name  is  the  third  on  the 
list  of  those  who  subscribed  the  Covenant  or  voluntary 
compact,  before  their  disembarcation  at  Cape  Cod.  He 
was  one  of  those  who,  in  the  little  shallop  or  pinnace, 
made  the  adventurous  and  perilous  examinations  of  the 
coast  and  bay  of  the  Cape,  and  one  of  the  first  who  came 
on  shore,  to  seek  out  the  most  eligible  place  for  founding 
a  settlement  in  this  then  wild  and  unknown  land.  In  all 
the  initiatory  labours  for  establishing  their  little  colony, 
the  nucleus  of  a  great  nation,  he  was  ever  active  and 
influential.     Possessing   a  sound   and  well   disciplined 

*  Extract  from  the  records  of  St.  Peter's  church  at  Droitwich  :  "  1595,  Oct. 
20,  baptized  Edward,  son  of  Edward  Winslow,  born  the  previous  Friday" — 
which  was  the  19th.  His  mother's  name  was  Magdalen,  surname  unknown, 
and  she  was  married  3  Nov.  1594. — Young's  Chron.  274. 


94  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

mind,  a  pious  hearty  and  a  happy  address,  he  was  emi- 
nently useful,  in  mitigating  the  sufferings,  and  promoting 
the  welfare  of  the  pilgrims ;  who,  either  on  account  of 
the  respectability  of  his  family,  or  the  excellent  qualities 
of  his  mind  and  heart,  appear  to  have  regarded  him  with 
more  than  ordinary  respect,  and  with  a  confidence  which 
was  certainly  never  misplaced. 

When  the  great  sachem  of  the  Wampanoags,  Massa- 
soit,  first  made  his  appearance,  and  through  a  messen- 
ger invited  an  interview  with  the  settlers,  Mr.  Winslow 
was  deputed  by  Governor  Carver  to  meet  him;  and  he 
voluntarily  placed  himself  as  a  hostage  in  the  hands  of 
the  Indians,  while  their  chief,  Massasoit,  held  his  con- 
ference with  the  Governor.* 

When  Mr.  Winslow  arrived,  his  family  consisted  of 
his  wife  Elizabeth,  and  three  other  persons.  His  wife 
died  on  the  24th  of  March,  1621,f  and  on  the  12th  of 
May  following  he  married  Susanna,  the  widow  of  Wil- 
liam White,  and  mother  of  Peregrine,  the  first  English 
child  born  in  New  England.  This  was  the  first  mar- 
riage solemnized  in  the  colony. J 

In  July,§  1621,  Mr.  Winslow  went,  in  company  with 
Stephen  Hopkins,  to  visit  the  sachem  Massasoit  at  Po- 
kanoket.  The  design  of  this  visit  is  related  in  Brad- 
ford's life.H     The  particular  circumstances  of  the  visit 

*  See  an  account  ofthis  first  interview,  and  the  treaty  between  the  English 
and  the  Indians  of  New  Plymouth,  in  the  life  of  Carver,  page  44,  ante. 

t  Bradford,  in  Prince,  103. 

$  Bradford,  in  Prince,  105.     See  note  p.  31,  of  this  volume. 

§  Morton  says,  "The  second  of  July  this  year  (1621,)  they  sent  Mr.  Edward 
Winslow  and  Mr.  Stephen  Hopkins  unto  the  great  sachem,  Massasoit,  with  a 
gratuity,  to  congratulate  with  him,"  &c. — Memorial,  p.  31. 

IT  See  Life  of  Bradford,  p.  55,  ante. 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  95 

may  be  properly  detailed  here,  in  the  very  words  of  the 
original  narrative,  supposed  to  have  been  written  by 
Winslow. 

"  We  set  forward  the  10th  of  June,*  about  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  our  guide  [Tisquantum]  resolving  that 
night  to  rest  at  Namaschet,f  a  town  under  Massasoyt,  and 
conceived  by  us  to  be  very  near,  because  the  inhabitants 
nocked  so  thick  upon  every  slight  occasion  amongst  us; 
but  we  found  it  to  be  some  fifteen  English  miles.  On  the 
way  we  found  some  ten  or  twelve  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, which  had  pestered  us  till  we  were  weary  of  them ; 
perceiving  that  (as  the  manner  of  them  all  is)  where  victual 
is  easiest  to  be  got,  there  they  live,  especially  in  the  sum- 
mer ;  by  reason  whereof,  our  bay  affording  many  lobsters, 
they  resort  every  spring-tide  thither,  and  now  returned 
with  us  to  Namaschet.  Thither  we  came  about  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  inhabitants  entertaining  us 
with  joy,  in  the  best  manner  they  could,  giving  us  a 
kind  of  bread,  called  by  them  Mazium,  and  the  spawn 
of  shads,  which  then  they  got  in  abundance,  insomuch 
as  they  gave  us  spoons  to  eat  them;  with  these  they 
boiled  musty  acorns,  but  of  the  shads  we  eat  heartily. 
After  this  they  desired  one  of  our  men  to  shoot  at  a  crow, 
complaining  what  damage  they  sustained  in  their  corn  by 
them ;  who  shooting  some  four-score  off,  and  killing,  they 
much  admired  at  it,  as  other  shots  on  other  occasions. 

"After  this,  Tisquantum  told  us  we  should  hardly 
in  one  day  reach  Packanokick,J  moving  us  to  go  some 

*  Mr.  Prince  thinks  this  is  a  mistake,  and  that  it  ought  to  have  been  the  3d 
of  July.     Prince,  105. 

t  Part  of  Middleborough,  Mass. 

X  The  same  with  Pokanoket.  Indians  words  are  spelled  differently  by  dif- 
ferent writers.     I  here  follow  the  author  from  whom  I  copy. 


96  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

eight  miles  further,  where  we  should  find  more  store 
and  better  victuals  than  there.  Being  willing  to  hasten 
our  journey,  we  went,  and  came  thither  at  sunsetting, 
where  we  found  many  of  the  Namascheucks,  (they  so 
calling  the  men  of  Namaschet, )  fishing  upon  a  ware  which 
they  had  made  on  a  river*  which  belonged  to  them, 
where  they  caught  abundance  of  bass.  These  welcomed 
us  also,  gave  us  of  their  fish,  and  we  them  of  our  vic- 
tuals, not  doubting  but  we  should  have  enough  wher- 
e'er we  came.  There  we  lodged  in  the  open  fields,  for 
houses  they  had  none,  though  they  spent  the  most  of 
the  summer  there.  The  head  of  this  river  is  reported 
to  be  not  far  from  the  place  of  our  abode ;  upon  it  are 
and  have  been  many  towns,  it  being  a  good  length. 
The  ground  is  very  good  on  both  sides,  it  being  for  the 
most  part  cleared.  Thousands  of  men  have  lived  there, 
which  died  in  a  great  plague  not  long  since ;  and  pity 
it  was  and  is  to  see  so  many  goodly  fields  and  so  well 
seated  without  men  to  dress  and  manure  the  same. 

"  The  next  morning  we  brake  our  fast,  took  our  leave 
and  departed,  being  then  accompanied  with  some  six 
salvages.  Having  gone  about  six  miles  by  the  river's 
side,  at  a  known  shoal  place,  it  being  low  water,  they 
spake  to  us  to  put  off  our  breeches,  for  we  must  wade 
through.  Here  let  me  not  forget  the  valour  and  courage 
of  some  of  the  salvages  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river; 
for  there  were  remaining  alive  only  two  men,  both  aged. 
These  two,  espying  a  company  of  men  entering  the  river, 
ran  very  swiftly,  and  low  in  the  grass,  to  meet  us  at  the 
bank,  where,  with  shrill  voices  and  great  courage,  stand- 
ing charged  upon  us  with  their  bows,  they  demanded 

*  Taunton  River. 


EDWARD    WINSL0W.  97 

what  we  were,  supposing  us  to  be  enemies,  and  thinking 
to  take  advantage  of  us  in  the  water ;  but,  seeing  we 
were  friends,  they  welcomed  us  with  such  food  as  they 
had,  and  we  bestowed  a  small  bracelet  of  beads  on  them. 
Thus  far  we  are  sure  the  tide  ebbs  and  flows. 

(i  Having  here  again  refreshed  ourselves,  we  proceed- 
ed in  our  journey,  the  weather  being  very  hot  for  travel, 
yet  the  country  so  well  watered  that  a  man  could  scarce  be 
dry,  but  he  should  have  a  spring  at  hand  to  cool  his  thirst, 
besides  small  rivers  in  abundance.  The  salvages  will  not 
willingly  drink  but  at  a  spring-head.  When  we  came 
to  any  small  brook  where  no  bridge  was,  two  of  them 
desired  to  carry  us  through  of  their  own  accords ;  also, 
fearing  we  were  or  would  be  weary,  offered  to  carry 
our  pieces  [guns];  also,  if  we  would  lay  off  any  of  our 
clothes,  wre  should  have  them  carried ;  and  as  the  one 
of  them  had  found  more  special  kindness  from  one  of 
the  messengers,  and  the  other  salvage  from  the  other,  so 
they  showed  their  thankfulness  accordingly  in  affording 
us  all  help  and  furtherance  in  the  journey. 

u  As  we  passed  along,  we  observed  that  there  were 
few  places  by  the  river  but  had  been  inhabited,  by  reason 
whereof  much  ground  was  clear,  save  of  weeds,  which 
grew  higher  than  our  heads.  There  is  much  good  tim- 
ber, both  oak,  walnut  tree,  fir,  beech,  and  exceeding  great 
chestnut-trees. 

"After  we  came  to  a  town  of  Massasoyt's,  where 
we  eat  oysters  and  other  fish.  From  thence  we  went  to 
Packanokick,  but  Massasoyt  was  not  at  home.  There  we 
stayed,  he  being  sent  for.  When  news  was  brought  of 
his  coming,  our  guide,  Tisquantum,  requested  that  at  our 
meeting  we  should  discharge  our  pieces.  But  one  of 
13 


98  EDWARD    WINSL0W. 

us  going  about  to  charge  his  piece,  the  women  and 
children,  through  fear,  to  see  him  take  up  his  piece,  ran 
away,  and  could  not  be  pacified  till  he  laid  it  down  again, 
who  afterward  were  better  informed  by  our  interpreter. 

"  Massasoyt  being  come,  we  discharged  our  pieces 
and  saluted  him,  who,  after  their  manner,  kindly  wel- 
comed us,  and  took  us  into  his  house,  and  set  us  down 
by  him,  where,  having  delivered  our  message  and  pre- 
sents, and  having  put  the  coat  on  his  back  and  the  chain 
about  his  neck,  he  was  not  a  little  proud  to  behold  him- 
self, and  his  men  also  to  see  their  king,  so  bravely  attired. 

"For  answer  to  our  message,  he  told  us  we  were 
welcome,  and  he  would  gladly  continue  that  peace  and 
friendship  which  was  between  him  and  us;  and  for  his 
men,  they  should  no  more  pester  us  as  they  had  done; 
also,  that  he  would  send  to  Paomet,  and  would  help  us 
with  corn  for  seed,  according  to  our  request. 

"This  being  done,  his  men  gathered  near  to  him,  to 
whom  he  turned  himself  and  made  a  great  speech ; 
they  sometimes  interposing,  and,  as  it  were,  confirming 
and  applauding  him  in  that  he  said.  The  meaning 
whereof  was  (as  far  as  we  could  learn)  thus:  Was 
not  he,  Massasoyt,  commander  of  the  country  about 
them  ?  Was  not  such  a  town  his,  and  the  people  of  it  ? 
And  should  not  they  bring  their  skins  unto  us?  To 
which  they  answered,  they  were  his,  and  would  be  at 
peace  with  us,  and  bring  their  skins  to  us.  After  this 
manner,  he  named  at  least  thirty  places;  and  their 
answer  was  as  aforesaid  to  every  one ;  so  that,  as  it  was 
delightful,  it  was  tedious  unto  us. 

"This  being  ended,  he  lighted  tobacco  for  us,  and  fell 
to  discoursing  of  England  and  of  the  King's  Majesty,  mar- 


EDWARD    WINSL0W.  99 

veiling  that  he  would  live  without  a  wife.  Also  he  talked 
of  the  Frenchmen,  bidding  us  not  to  suffer  them  to  come 
to  Narroghiganset,  for  it  was  King  James's  country,  and 
he  also  was  King  James's  man.  Late  it  grew,  but  vic- 
tuals he  offered  none ;  for,  indeed,  he  had  not  any,  being 
he  came  so  newly  home.  So  we  desired  to  go  to  rest. 
He  laid  us  on  the  bed  with  himself  and  his  wife;  they 
at  the  one  end,  and  we  at  the  other ;  it  being  only  planks, 
laid  a  foot  from  the  ground,  and  a  thin  mat  upon  them. 
Two  more  of  his  chief  men,  for  want  of  room,  pressed 
by  and  upon  us,  so  that  we  were  worse  weary  of  our 
lodging  than  of  our  journey. 

"The  next  day,  being  Thursday,  many  of  their 
sachims  or  petty  governors  came  to  see  us,  and  many  of 
their  men  also.  There  they  went  to  their  manner  of 
games  for  skins  and  knives.  There  we  challenged  them 
to  shoot  with  them  for  skins,  but  they  durst  not,  only 
they  desired  to  see  one  of  us  shoot  at  a  mark ;  who, 
shooting  with  hail-shot,  they  wondered  to  see  the  mark 
so  full  of  holes. 

"About  one  o'clock  Massasoyt  brought  two  fishes 
that  he  had  shot ;  they  were  like  bream,  but  three  times 
so  big,  and  better  meat.  [Probably  the  fish  called 
Tataug.]  These  being  boiled,  there  were  at  least 
forty  looked  for  share  in  them ;  the  most  eat  of  them. 
This  meal  only  we  had  in  two  nights  and  a  day ;  and 
had  not  one  of  us  bought  a  partridge,  we  had  taken 
our  journey  fasting.  Very  importunate  he  was  to  have  us 
stay  with  him  longer ;  but  we  desired  to  keep  the  Sab- 
bath at  home,  and  feared  we  should  either  be  light-headed 
for  want  of  sleep ;  for  what  with  bad  lodging,  the  savages' 
barbarous  singing,  ( for  they  use  to  sing  themselves  asleep, ) 


100  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

lice,  and  fleas  within  doors,  and  mosquitoes  without,  we 
could  hardly  sleep  all  the  time  of  our  being  there ;  we 
much  fearing  that,  if  we  should  stay  any  longer,  we 
should  not  be  able  to  recover  home  for  want  of  strength. 

"  On  Friday  morning,  before  sunrising,  we  took  our 
leave  and  departed,  Massasoyt  being  both  grieved  and 
ashamed  that  he  could  no  better  entertain  us;  and  retain- 
ing Tisquantum  to  sand  from  place  to  place  to  procure 
truck  for  us,  and  appointed  another  [guide],  Tokamaha- 
mon,  in  his  place,  whom  we  had  found  faithful  before 
and  after  upon  all  occasions." 

This  narrative  gives  us  a  just  idea  of  the  hospitality, 
and  also  of  the  poverty  of  the  Indians.  They  gladly 
entertain  strangers,  with  the  best  they  can  afford ;  but 
it  is  familiar  to  them  to  endure  long  abstinence.  Those 
who  visit  them  must  be  content  to  fare  as  they  do,  or 
carry  their  own  provisions  and  be  willing  to  share  it  with 
them. 

Mr.  Winslow's  next  excursion  was  by  sea  to  Mona- 
higon  (or,  as  the  name  is  now  written,  Monhegon,)  an 
island  a  few  leagues  east  of  the  mouth  of  the  Kennebeck 
river,  to  procure  a  supply  of  bread  from  the  fishing  vessels, 
which  resorted  to  the  eastern  coast  in  the  spring  of  1622. 
He  obtained  a  supply,  which,  though  not  large,  was  readily 
given  to  the  suffering  colony,  and,  being  prudently  man- 
aged in  the  distribution,  amounted  to  one  quarter  of  a 
pound  a  day  for  each  person  till  the  next  harvest.  By 
means  of  this  excursion,  the  people  of  New  Plymouth  ob- 
tained a  knowledge  of  the  eastern  coast,  of  which  they 
afterwards  availed  themselves  in  the  establishment  of  a 
beneficial  traffic  with  the  natives.* 

*  Prince,  119.     Purchas,  iv.  1836. 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  101 

In  the  spring  of  the  following  year,  ( 1623,)  Mr.  Wins- 
low  made  a  second  visit  to  Massasoit,  on  account  of  his 
sickness,*  the  particular  circumstances  of  which  are  thus 
given  in  his  own  words  :f 

"News  came  to  Plymouth  that  MassassowatJ  was 
like  to  die,  and  that,  at  the  same  time,  there  was  a  Dutch 
ship  driven  so  high  on  the  shore,  by  stress  of  weather,  right 
before  his  dwelling,  that,  till  the  tides  increased,  she  could 
not  be  got  off.  Now  it  being  a  commendable  manner  of 
the  Indians,  when  any,  especially  of  note,  are  dangerously 
sick,  for  all  that  profess  friendship  to  them  to  visit  them 
in  their  extremity,  either  in  their  persons,  or  else  to 
send  some  acceptable  persons  to  them ;  therefore,  it  was 
thought  meet,  being  a  good  and  warrantable  action,  that, 
as  we  had  ever  professed  friendship,  so  we  should  now 
maintain  the  same  by  observing  this  their  laudable  cus- 
tom ;  and  the  rather,  because  we  desired  to  have  some 
conference  with  the  Dutch,  not  knowing  when  we  should 
have  so  fit  an  opportunity. 

"  To  that  end,  myself  having  formerly  been  there,  and 
understanding  in  some  measure  the  Dutch  tongue,  the 
governor  [Bradford]  again  laid  this  service  upon  myself, 
and  fitted  me  with  some  cordials  to  administer  to  him ; 
having  one  Master  John  Hampden,§  a  gentleman  of 
London,  who  then  wintered  with  us,  and  desired  much 
to  see  the  country,  for  my  consort,  and  Hobbamock  for 
our  guide.  So  we  set  forward,  and  lodged  the  first 
night  at  Namasket,  where  we  had  friendly  entertainment. 

*  This  visit  was  in  March.     Prince,  129. 

t  From  the  copy  of  Winslow's  "  Good  Newes  from  New  England,"  reprint- 
ed in  Young's  Chronicles  of  the  Pilgrims. 
%  Thus  spelled  in  Winslow's  narrative. 
§  See  note,  page  64,  ante. 


102  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

"  The  next  day,  about  one  of  the  clock,  we  came  to 
a  ferry  in  Conbatant's  *  country,  where,  upon  discharge 
of  my  piece,  divers  Indians  came  to  us  from  a  house  not 
far  off.  They  told  us  that  Massassowat  was  dead  and 
that  day  buried,  and  that  the  Dutch  would  be  gone 
before  we  could  get  thither,  having  hove  off  their  ship 
already.  This  news  struck  us  blank,  but  especially 
Hobbamock,  who  desired  we  might  return  with  all  speed. 
I  told  him  I  would,  first  think  of  it,  considering  now,  that 
he  being  dead,  Conbatant  was  the  most  like  to  succeed 
him,  and  that  we  were  not  above  three  miles  from  Mat- 
tapuyst,f  his  dwelling-place.  Although  he  were  but  a 
hollow-hearted  friend  towards  us,  I  thought  no  time  so 
fit  as  this  to  enter  into  more  friendly  terms  with  him  and 
the  rest  of  the  sachims  thereabout ;  hoping,  through  the 
blessing  of  God,  it  would  be  a  means  in  that  unsettled 
state,  to  settle  their  affections  towards  us ;  and  though  it 
were  somewhat  dangerous,  in  respect  of  our  personal 
safety,  because  myself  and  Hobbamock  had  been  em- 
ployed upon  a  service  against  him,  which  he  might  now 
fitly  revenge ;  yet  esteeming  it  the  best  means,  leaving 
the  event  to  God  in  his  mercy,  I  resolved  to  put  it  in 
practice,  if  Master  Hampden  and  Hobbamock  durst  at- 
tempt it  with  me,  whom  I  found  willing  to  that  or  any 
other  course  might  tend  to  the  general  good.  So  we 
went  towards  Mattapuyst. 

"  In  the  way,  Hobbamock,  manifesting  a  troubled 
spirit,  brake  forth  into  these  speeches.  '  JYeen  womasu 
Sagimus,'  &c. :  l  My  loving  sachem !  many  have  I  known, 

*  His  name  is  spelled  Corbitant,  Caunbitant,  Conbatant,  and  Conbutant. 
This  ferry  is  probably  the  same  which  is  now  called  Slade's  Ferry,  in  Swansey. 

1  A  neck  of  land  in  the  township  of  Swansey,  commonly  pronounced  Mat- 
tapoiset. 


EDWARD    WINSL0W.  103 

but  never  any  like  thee!'  And  turning  to  him,  said, 
whilst  I  lived,  I  should  never  see  his  like  amongst  the  In- 
dians ;  saying  he  was  no  liar,  he  was  not  bloody  and 
cruel  like  other  Indians ;  in  anger  and  passion  he  was 
soon  reclaimed ;  easy  to  be  reconciled  towards  such  as 
had  offended  him;  ruled  by  reason,  in  such  measure 
as  he  would  not  scorn  the  advice  of  mean  men ;  and  that 
he  governed  his  men  better  with  few  strokes  than  others 
did  with  many ;  truly  loving  where  he  loved ;  yea,  he 
feared  we  had  not  a  faithful  friend  left  among  the  In- 
dians, showing  how  he  oftimes  restrained  their  malice 
&c,  continuing  a  long  speech,  with  such  signs  of  lamen- 
tation and  unfeigned  sorrow,  as  it  would  have  made  the 
hardest  heart  relent. 

"  At  length  we  came  to  Mattapuyst,  and  went  to  the 
Sachimo  comaco,  for  so  they  call  the  sachim's  place,  though 
they  call  an  ordinary  house  witeo ;  but  Conbatant,  the 
sachim,  was  not  at  home,  but  at  Puckanokick,  which  was 
some  five  or  six  miles  off.  The  squa-sachim,  for  so  they 
call  the  sachim's  wife,  gave  us  friendly  entertainment. 
Here  we  inquired  again  concerning  Massassowat ;  they 
thought  him  dead,  but  knew  no  certainty.  Whereupon 
I  hired  one  to  go  with  all  expedition  to  Puckanokick, 
that  we  might  know  the  certainty  thereof,  and,  withal, 
to  acquaint  Conbatant  with  our  there  being.  About  half 
an  hour  before  sunsetting  the  messenger  returned,  and 
told  us  he  was  not  yet  dead,  though  there  was  no  hope 
we  should  find  him  living.  Upon  this  we  were  much 
revived,  and  set  forward  with  all  speed,  though  it  was 
late  within  night  we  got  thither.  About  two  of  the  clock 
that  afternoon,  the  Dutchman  departed;  so  that  in  that 
respect  our  journey  was  frustrate. 


104  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

"When  we  came  thither,  we  found  the  house  so 
full  of  men  as  we  could  scarce  get  in,  though  they  used 
their  best  diligence  to  make  way  for  us.  There  were 
they  in  the  midst  of  their  charms  for  him,  making  such 
a  hellish  noise,  as  it  distempered  us  that  were  well,  and 
therefore  unlike  to  ease  him  that  was  sick.  About  him 
were  six  or  eight  women,  who  chafed  his  arms,  legs,  and 
thighs,  to  keep  heat  in  him.  When  they  had  made  an 
end  of  their  charming,  one  told  him  that  his  friends  the 
English  were  come  to  see  him.  Having  understanding 
left,  but  his  sight  was  wholly  gone,  he  asked  who  was 
come?  They  told  him  Winsnow,  (for  they  cannot  pro- 
nounce the  letter  /,  but  ordinarily  n  in  the  place  thereof. ) 
He  desired  to  speak  with  me.  When  I  came  to  him 
and  they  told  him  of  it,  he  put  forth  his  hand  to  me, 
which  I  took  ;  then  he  said  twice,  though  very  inwardly, 
( Keen  Winsnow  V  i  art  thou  Winslow  V  I  answered 
c (tithe/  that  is,  'yes.'  Then  he  doubled  these  words, 
c  Matta  neen  wonckanet  namen,  JVinsnoio  P  that  is  to 
say,  c  O  Winslow,  I  shall  never  see  thee  again  !'  Then 
I  called  Hobbamock,  and  desired  him  to  tell  Massassowat 
that  the  governor,  hearing  of  his  sickness  was  sorry  for 
the  same ;  and  though,  by  reason  of  many  businesses, 
he  could  not  come  himself,  yet  he  sent  me,  with  such 
things  for  him  as  he  thought  most  likely  to  do  him  good 
in  this  his  extremity;  and  whereof,  if  he  please  to  take, 
I  would  presently  give  him ;  which  he  desired ;  and, 
having  a  confection  of  many  comfortable  conserves,  &c. 
on  the  point  of  my  knife,  I  gave  him  some,  which  I  could 
scarce  get  through  his  teeth.  When  it  was  dissolved  in 
his  mouth,  he  swallowed  the  juice  of  it,  whereat  those 
that  were  about  him  much  rejoiced,  saying  he  had  not 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  105 

swallowed  any  thing  in  two  days  before.  Then  I  de- 
sired to  see  his  mouth,  which  was  exceedingly  furred, 
and  his  tongue  swelled  in  such  a  manner,  as  it  was  not 
possible  for  him  to  eat  such  meat  as  they  had.  Then  I 
washed  his  mouth,  and  scraped  his  tongue,  after  which 
I  gave  him  more  of  the  confection,  which  he  swallowed 
with  more  readiness.  Then,  he  desiring  to  drink,  I 
dissolved  some  of  it  in  water,  and  gave  him  thereof. 
Within  half  an  hour  this  wrought  a  great  alteration  in 
him,  in  the  eyes  of  all  that  beheld  him.  Presently  after 
his  sight  began  to  come  to  him.  Then  I  gave  him  more, 
and  told  him  of  a  mishap  we  had  by  the  way,  in  break- 
ing a  bottle  of  drink  which  the  governor  also  sent  him, 
saying,  if  he  would  send  any  of  his  men  to  Patuxet,  I 
would  send  for  more  of  the  same ;  also  for  chickens  to 
make  him  broth,  and  for  other  things  which  I  knew  were 
good  for  him,  and  would  stay  the  return  of  his  messen- 
ger if  he  desired.  This  he  took  marvellous  kindly,  and 
appointed  some  who  were  ready  to  go  by  two  of  the 
clock  in  the  morning,  against  which  time  I  made  ready 
a  letter,  declaring  therein  our  good  success,  and  desi- 
ring such  things  as  were  proper.  He  requested  me  that 
the  day  following  I  would  take  my  piece  and  kill  him 
some  fowl,  and  make  him  some  English  pottage,  such 
as  he  had  eaten  at  Plymouth,,  which  I  promised ;  after 
his  stomach  coming  to  him,  I  must  needs  make  him  some 
without  fowl  before  I  went  abroad.  I  caused  a  woman 
to  bruise  some  corn  and  take  the  flower  from  it,  and  set 
over  the  grit  or  broken  corn  in  a  pipkin  (for  they  have 
earthen  pots  of  all  sizes.)  When  the  day  broke,  we 
went  out,  it  being  now  March,  to  seek  herbs,  but  could 
not  find  any  but  strawberry  leaves,  of  which  I  gathered 
14 


106  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

a  handful  and  put  into  the  same,  and,  because  I  had  noth- 
ing to  relish  it,  I  went  forth  again  and  pulled  up  a  sassa- 
fras root,  and  sliced  a  piece  thereof  and  boiled  it,  till  it 
had  a  good  relish.  Of  this  broth  I  gave  him  a  pint, 
which  he  drank  and  liked  it  very  well;  after  this  his 
sight  mended,  more  and  more,  and  he  took  some  rest. 
That  morning  he  caused  me  to  spend  in  going  from  one 
to  another  amongst  those  that  were  sick  in  the  town, 
requesting  me  to  wash  their  mouths  also  and  give  to  each 
of  them  some  of  the  same  I  gave  him,  saying  they  were 
good  folk.  This  pains  I  took  with  willingness,  though 
it  were  much  offensive  to  me. 

"  The  messengers  were  now  returned,  but  finding  his 
stomach  come  to  him,  he  would  not  have  the  chickens 
killed,  but  kept  them  for  breed.  Neither  durst  we  give 
him  any  physic,  because  his  body  was  so  much  altered, 
not  doubting  now  of  his  recovery  if  he  were  careful. 
Upon  his  recovery,  he  brake  forth  into  these  speeches : 
c  Now  I  see  the  English  are  my  friends,  and  love  me ; 
and  whilst  I  live,  I  will  never  forget  this  kindness  they 
have  showed  me.'  At  our  coming  away,  he  called  Hob- 
bamock  to  him,  and  privately  revealed  the  plot  of  the 
Massacheuseucks  against  Master  Weston's  colony,  and  so 
against  us.  But  he  would  neither  join  therein  nor  give 
way  to  any  of  his.  With  this  he  charged  him  to  ac- 
quaint me  by  the  way,  that  I  might  inform  the  governor. 
Being  fitted  for  our  return,  we  took  leave  of  him,  who 
returned  many  thanks  to  our  governor,  and  also  to  our- 
selves, for  our  labour  and  love ;  the  like  did  all  that  were 
about  him.     So  we  departed." 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  ( 1623,)  Mr.  Wins- 
low  went  to  England,  in  the  ship  Ann,  which  sailed  on 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  107 

the  10th  September,  as  agent  for  the  colony,  to  give  an 
account  of  their  proceedings,  and  of  their  condition  and 
prospects,  to  the  adventurers,  and  to  procure  such  sup- 
plies as  were  necessary.  While  he  was  in  England,  he 
prepared  for  publication  a  narrative  of  the  settlement 
and  transactions  of  the  colony  at  New  Plymouth,  under 
this  title :  li  Good  JYeives  from  New  E?igland :  or  a  true 
Relation  of  tilings  very  remarkable  at  the  Plantation  of 
Plimoth  in  New  England.  Shelving  the  wondrous  Provi- 
dence and  goodness  of  God,  in  their  preservation  and 
continuance,  being  delivered  from  many  apparent  deaths 
and  dangers,  Sfc.  Written  by  E.  W.  who  hath  borne  a 
part  in  the  fore-named  troubles,  and  there  lived  since  their 
first  Arrwatt." 

This  narrative,  which  was  first  printed  at  London, 
in  1624,  in  66  small  quarto  pages,  embraces  the  history 
of  the  colony  from  the  return  of  the  ship  Fortune,  in 
December,  1621,  to  the  10th  September,  1623,  when 
the  author  sailed  for  England.  The  book,  in  an 
abridged  and  mutilated  form,  was  re-printed,  in  1625,  by 
Purchas,  in  the  fourth  volume  of  his  Pilgrims,  and  has 
been  of  great  service  to  succeeding  historians.  This 
abridgment  was  again  published  in  1802,  in  I  Mass.  Hist. 
Coll.,  viii.  239 — 276,  and  the  omitted  passages  were  sup- 
plied twenty  years  afterwards,  in  II  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  ix. 
Young,  in  his  Chronicles,  reprints  the  work,  "  for  the 
first  time  entire  and  in  a  legible  form,  from  the  original 
London  edition."  Mr.  Winslow  was  induced  to  pub- 
lish this  work,  in  order  that  the  friends  of  the  colony  in 
England  might  have  a  continuation  of  the  narrative  from 
the  point  where  Mourt's  Relation  ends,  and  also,  to  cor- 
rect the  misrepresentations  which  had  grown  out  of  the 


108  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

breaking  up  and  dispersion,  a  short  time  before,  of  Wes- 
ton's colony  at  Wessagusset,  composed  in  chief  of  idle 
and  vicious  persons,  "  who  as  they  were  a  stain  to  Old 
England  that  bred  them,  in  respect  of  their  lives  and 
manners  amongst  the  Indians,  so,  it  is  to  be  feared,  will 
be  no  less  to  New  England,  in  their  vile  and  clamorous 
reports,  because  she  would  not  foster  them  in  their  desir- 
ed idle  courses."  Appended  to  this  work,  is  a  "  Rela- 
tion of  such  religious  and  civill  Lawes  and  Customes,  as 
are  in  practice  amongst  the  Indians,  adjoyning  to  them 
at  this  day.  As  also  what  Commodities  are  there  to  be 
raysed  for  the  maintenance  of  that  and  other  Plantations 
in  the  said  Country."  This  memoir  excited  great  atten- 
tion at  the  time  it  was  first  published,  and  is  even  now, 
when  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  aboriginals  of 
New  England  are  better  understood,  read  with  interest. 
In  concluding,  after  speaking  of  the  soil  and  productions 
of  the  country,  he  alludes  to  the  extravagant  hopes  which 
too  often  influence  the  emigrant,  and  gives  a  salutary 
warning  to  all  such  as  "  with  too  great  lightness  undertake 
such  courses ;  who  peradventure  strain  themselves  and 
their  friends  for  their  passage  thither,  and  are  no  sooner 
there  than  seeing  their  foolish  imaginations  made  void, 
are  at  their  wit's  end,  and  would  give  ten  times  so  much 
for  their  return.  And  can  any  be  so  simple  as  to  con- 
ceive that  the  fountains  should  stream  forth  wine  or 
beer,  or  the  woods  and  rivers  be  like  butchers'  shops,  or 
fishmongers'  stalls,  where  they  might  have  things  taken 
to  their  hands?  If  thou  canst  not  live  without  such  things, 
and  hast  no  means  to  procure  the  one,  and  wilt  not  take 
pains  for  the  other,  nor  hast  ability  to  employ  others 
for  thee,  rest  where  thou  art ;  for  as  a  proud  heart,  a 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  109 

dainty  tooth,  a  beggar's  purse,  and  an  idle  hand,  be  here 
intolerable,  so  that  person  that  hath  these  qualities  there, 
is  much  more  abominable." 

In  the  following  spring,  (March,  1624,)  Mr.  Winslow 
returned  in  the  ship  Charity  from  England  having  been 
absent  six  months,  bringing  a  good  supply  of  clothing 
and  other  necessaries,  and,  what  was  of  more  value  than 
any  other  supply,  the  first  neat  cattle  ever  brought  into 
New  England.*  The  colonists  learned  from  Mr.  Wins- 
low,  that  a  strong  party  had  been  raised  up  against  them 
amongst  the  adventurers,  who  were  extremely  anxious 
to  prevent  Robinson  and  the  remainder  of  his  church 
from  emigrating  to  America.  He  brought  letters  from 
Robinson  and  Cushman.  A  carpenter  came  over  for  the 
purpose  of  building  two  ketches,  a  lighter,  and  six 
or  seven  shallops,  and  a  person  also  to  make  salt.  The 
carpenter  built  his  craft  faithfully  and  speedily,  but  soon 
died.  The  other  was  ignorant,  and  did  not  bring  his 
undertaking  to  any  successful  issue. f 

During  the  summer  of  1624,  Mr.  Winslow  again 
went  to  England,  where  he  had  an  opportunity  of  cor- 
recting a  mistake  which  had  been  made  in  his  former 
voyage.     The  adventurers  had  in  the  former  vessel  sent 

*  This  fixes  the  date  of  the  first  importation  of  neat  cattle,  three  heifers 
and  a  bull  being  brought  over  at  this  time.  Bradford,  in  Prince,  146.  The  set- 
tlers were  destitute  of  milk  the  first  four  years.  The  first  notice  of  horses,  is 
in  1644.  Before  their  introduction,  (says  Thaeher,)  it  was  not  uncommon  for  peo- 
ple to  ride  on  bulls;  and  there  is  a  tradition  in  the  Old  Colony,  that  when  John 
Alden  went  to  the  Cape  to  be  married  to  Priscilla  Mullins,  he  covered  his  bull 
with  a  handsome  piece  of  broadcloth,  and  rode  on  his  back.  On  his  return  he 
seated  his  wife  on  the  bull,  and  led  the  uneouth  animal  by  a  rope  fixed  in  the 
nose  ring.  This  sample  of  primitive  gallantry  would  ill  compare  with  that  of 
Abraham's  servant,  when,  by  proxy,  he  gallanted  Rebekah  on  her  journey,  with 
a  splendid  retinue  of  damsels  and  servants  seated  on  camels,  Isaac  going  out  to 
meet  her.     Gen.  xxiv. 

t  Prince,  146, 148. 


1]0  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

over  John  Lyford,  a  preacher,  much  against  the  wishes 
of  some  of  their  number,  who  suspected  him  of  being 
unfit  for  the  office.     Mr.  Winslow  and  others  reluctantly 
consented  to  his  coming.     His  worthless  character  was 
soon  discovered,  and  Mr.  Winslow  now  imparted  his 
suspicions  to  the  adventurers  in  London.     A  meeting 
was  had,  and  Mr.  Lyford's   friends  employed  counsel 
to  defend  him ;  but  upon  the  examination  it  appeared, 
that  Lyford  had  been  a  minister  in  Ireland,  where  his 
conduct  had  been  so  unprincipled  and  base,  that  he  was 
compelled  to  quit  the  Kingdom,  and  that  the  adventurers 
had  been  imposed  upon  by  false  testimony  concerning 
his  character.     With  this  discovery,  Mr.  Winslow  came 
back  to  New  Plymouth  in  the  spring  of  1625,  happening 
to  arrive  while  the  court  was  sitting  on  the  affair  of  Old- 
ham, who  had  returned   after  banishment.     The  true 
characters  of  these  impostors  being  thus  discovered,  they 
were  both  expelled  from  the  plantation.* 

At  the  annual  election  in  1624,  Governor  Bradford 
having  prevailed  on  the  people  of  Plymouth,  to  increase 
the  number  of  assistants  to  five,  Mr.  Winslow  was  first 
elected  to  this  office,  in  which  he  was  continued  by 
successive  appointments  until  1633,  when,  by  the  same 
influence,  he  was  chosen  governor.f 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1624,  the  number  of  souls 
in  the  colony  was  one  hundred  and  eighty,  who  were 

*  See  account  of  the  proceedings  in  relation  to  Oldham  and  Lyford,  in  pp. 
85—87,  of  this  volume. 

t  Governor  Winthrop,  in  his  Journal,  under  date  of  Jan.  1, 163|,  says,  «  Mr. 
Edward  Winslow  was  chosen  governor  of  Plymouth,  Mr.  Bradford  having  been 
governor  about  ten  [twelve]  years,  and  now  by  importunity  got  off."  Savage  s 
Winthrop,  98.  This  remark  sufficiently  invalidates  an  insinuate  of  Hutchin- 
son, that  Window's  "employment  abroad  prevented  a  competition  between 
Bradford  and  him  for  the  governor's  place."  Hutchinson's  History  of  the 
Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  457. 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  Ill 

then  all  dwelling  within  the  town.  Thirty  two  dwelling 
houses  had  been  erected.  The  town  was  impaled  for 
half  a  mile  in  circumference.  A  well  built  fort  was  on 
the  hill,  surmounted  by  a  watch  tower.  For  the  last 
three  years  the  health  of  the  colony  had  been  remarka- 
ble, and  not  one  of  the  first  planters  had  died.  At  Cape 
Anne,  a  plantation  had  been  commenced  by  people  from 
Dorchester  in  England,  which  they  held  of  the  Plymouth 
people,  and  a  fishing  stage  had  been  erected  there.* 

The  harvest  of  1625,  was  plenteous,  insomuch  that 
the  planters  were  overstocked,  and  wished  to  dispose  of 
some  portion  of  it  to  the  Indians.  They  had  no  other 
vessels  than  two  shallops  built  by  the  carpenter  sent  out 
to  them  in  the  preceding  year,  on  one  of  which  they 
laid  a  deck,  and  sent  her,  laden  with  corn,  to  the  Kenne- 
beck.  They  disposed  of  the  corn  to  advantage,  and  re- 
turned with  seven  hundred  pounds  of  beaver,  beside 
other  furs,  having  also  opened  a  profitable  trade  for  fu- 
ture occasions.  "This  voyage  (says  Gov.  Bradford) 
was  made  by  Mr.  Winslow  and  some  old  standards,  for 
seamen  we  have  none." 

The  plantation  at  Monhiggon  being  broken  up  in 
1626,  and  the  commodities  belonging  to  it  being  offered 
for  sale,  Mr.  Winslow  accompanied  Governor  Bradford 
to  that  place,  on  behalf  of  the  company,  where  they  unit- 
ed with  Mr.  Thompson  of  Pascataqua  in  purchasing  the 
goods.  They  also  purchased  a  quantity  of  French  goods, 
being  part  of  the  cargo  of  a  ship  cast  away  at  Sagade- 
hock.f 

Mr.  Winslow  appears  to  have  had  the  principal  over- 
sight of  the  commercial  operations  of  the  infant  colony. 

*  Prince,  151.     t  Prince,  161. 


112  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

He  was  well  qualified  to  conduct  the  many  difficult  and 
sometimes  perilous  enterprises,  which  it  became  neces- 
sary to  take,  for  the  benefit  of  the  colony.  He  fre- 
quently went  to  the  Penobscot,  Kennebeck,  and  Connec- 
ticut rivers,  on  trading  expeditions,  and  rendered  him- 
self useful  and  agreeable  to  the  settlers  on  those  rivers. 

Governor  Winthrop  notices  the  following  narrow  es- 
cape of  Governor  Winslow  while  on  one  of  these  expe- 
ditions to  the  settlement  on  the  Kennebeck,  in  the  year 
1642:  "The  Indians  at  Kennebeck  hearing  of  the 
general  conspiracy  against  the  English,  determined  to 
begin  there,  and  one  of  them  knowing  that  Mr.  Edward 
Winslow  did  use  to  walk  within  the  palisadoes,  pre- 
pared his  piece  to  shoot  him,  but  as  he  was  about  it, 
Mr.  Winslow  not  seeing  him  nor  suspecting  anything, 
but  thinking  he  had  walked  enough,  went  suddenly 
into  the  house,  and  so  God  preserved  him."* 

Upon  coming  to  the  chief  magistracy  in  1633,  Gover- 
nor Winslow  found  that  disputes  had  commenced  with 
the  Dutch  of  New  Netherlands,  respecting  the  trade  upon 
Connecticut  river.  A  friendly  correspondence  had  been 
established  in  1627,  between  the  Dutch  authorities  and 
those  of  New  Plymouth,  and  during  their  intercourse, 
the  Dutch  had  given  information  of  a  fine  river,  extend- 
ing far  into  the  country,  to  which  they  had  given  the 
name  of  Fresh  river,  but  which  the  natives  called  Quo- 
nektacut.  They  extolled  the  lands  bordering  the  stream, 
and  the  river  as  convenient  for  trade,  and  urgently 
pressed  the  people  of  Plymouth  to  open  a  trade  with 
the  natives.  But  their  advice  was  neglected  at  the  time. 
Soon  after,  some  of  the  Indians  living  upon  the  river, 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  ii.,  60. 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  113 

who  had  been  driven  from  their  homes  by  the  Pequots, 
came  to  Plymouth,  and  entreated  the  English  to  es- 
tablish a  trading  house  on  the  river,  in  the  hope  that 
through  their  assistance  they  might  ultimately  be  re- 
stored to  their  possessions.  Mr.  Winslow  had  himself 
been  to  the  Connecticut^  or  Fresh  River,  and  found  the 
representations  of  the  Dutch  and  Indians  to  be  true. 
But  the  people  of  Plymouth  still  declined  to  venture 
upon  the  establishment  of  a  trading  house.  The  In- 
dians renewing  their  requests  both  to  the  governments 
of  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts,  Governor  Winslow  and 
Mr.  Bradford  proceeded  to  Boston,  and  proposed  to 
Governor  Winthrop  and  his  council  to  join  with  Ply- 
mouth in  a  trade  to  Connecticut  for  hemp  and  beaver, 
and  in  the  erection  of  a  house  for  the  purposes  of  com- 
merce. It  being  reported  that  the  Dutch  were  about  to 
build  on  Connecticut  river,  Winslow  and  Bradford  rep- 
resented it  as  necessary  to  prevent  them  from  taking  pos- 
session of  that  fine  country;  but  Winthrop  objected  to  the 
making  of  a  plantation  there,  because  there  were  3000  or 
4000  warlike  Indians  on  the  river;  because  the  bar  at 
the  mouth  was  such,  that  small  pinnaces  only  could  enter 
it  at  high  water;  and  because,  seven  months  in  the  year, 
no  vessel  could  go  in,  on  account  of  the  ice  and  the  vio- 
lence of  the  stream.  This  proposal  being  declined,  the 
people  of  Plymouth  determined  to  undertake  the  enter- 
prise at  their  own  risk.  The  materials  for  a  house,  en- 
tirely prepared,  were  put  on  board  a  vessel,  and  commit- 
ted to  a  chosen  company,  which  sailed  for  Connecticut. 
The  Dutch  of  New  Netherlands  hearing  of  the  design, 
had  just  taken  a  station  on  that  river,  at  the  place  where 
Hartford  now  stands ;  made  a  light  fort,  and  planted  two 
15 


114  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

pieces  of  cannon.  On  the  approach  of  the  Plymouth 
adventurers,  the  Dutch  forbade  them  to  proceed  up  the 
river,  ordered  them  to  strike  their  colours,  and  threatened 
to  fire  on  them.  But  the  commander  of  the  enterprise, 
disregarding  the  prohibition  and  the  menaces,  went  reso- 
lutely forward,  and,  landing  on  the  west  side  of  the  river, 
set  up  his  house  at  some  distance  above  the  Dutch  fort, 
and  soon  after  fortified  it  with  palisadoes.  This  was  the 
first  house  erected  in  Connecticut.  The  place  where  this 
house  was  erected  was  a  little  below  the  mouth  of  Little 
River,  in  Windsor.  It  was  called  by  the  natives  JYata- 
wanute.  The  sachems,  who  were  the  original  owners 
of  the  soil,  having  been  driven  from  this  part  of  the 
country  by  the  Pequots,  William  Holmes,  who  con- 
ducted the  enterprise  from  Plymouth,  took  them  with 
him  to  their  homes,  and  restored  them  to  their  rights. 
Of  these  sachems  the  Plymouth  people  purchased  the 
land,  where  they  erected  their  house.  The  conquering 
Indians  were  offended  at  the  restoration  of  the  original 
proprietors  of  the  country ;  and  the  proximity  of  two 
such  neighbors,  as  the  irritated  Dutch,  and  the  fero- 
cious Pequots,  rendered  it  difficult  and  hazardous  for 
the  English  to  retain  their  new  purchase.* 

Mr.  Winslow,  in  1634,  on  returning  from  a  trading 
expedition  to  the  Dutch  at  New  York,  left  his  vessel  in 
Narragansett  Bay,  and  thence  went  by  land  to  Plymouth. 
He  called  on  his  old  friend  Massasoit,  who  promised  to 
accompany  him  home.  Before  he  set  off,  the  sportive 
sachem  despatched  a  messenger  before  them  to  Ply- 
mouth, to  tell  the  inhabitants  that  Winslow  was  dead. 

*  Morton,  89;   Savage's  Wiuthrop,  i.  105;    Trumbull,  i.  29,  30;   I.  Mass. 
Hist.  Coll.,  v.  167. 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  115 

This  report  filled  the  whole  colony  with  grief  and  lamen- 
tation. The  sorrow  and  mourning  of  the  people,  how- 
ever, were  of  but  short  duration ;  for  the  next  day 
Massasoit  (or,  as  he  was  now  called,  Ousamequen,)  ap- 
peared, conducting  the  lamented  Winslow  into  the  town. 
On  being  enquired  of,  why  he  sent  such  a  message,  he 
answered  by  saying,  that  he  might  be  the  more  welcome 
when  he  came  home.* 

In  1635,  Mr.  Winslow  undertook  another  agency  in 
England,  for  the  colonies  of  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts, 
partly  on  occasion  of  the  intrusions  which  had  been 
made  on  the  territory  of  New  England,  by  the  French 
on  the  east,  and  by  the  Dutch  on  the  west,  and  partly 
to  answer  complaints  which  had  been  made  to  the  gov- 
ernment against  the  Massachusetts  colony,  by  Thomas 
Morton,  who  had  been  twice  expelled  for  his  misbeha- 
viour, and  was  labouring  in  England  with  great  zeal 
against  the  colonies. 

A  special  commission  had  been  issued  in  1634,  to 
Archbishop  Laud  and  eleven  others,  with  the  most  ex- 
traordinary powers. f  It  menaced  the  complete  subver- 
sion of  the  colonies,  and  the  most  absolute  tyranny  both 
in  civil  and  ecclesiastical  affairs.  The  favorite  scheme  of 
a  general  governor  for  all  the  colonies  was  again  revived, 
and  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges  was  the  person  selected. 
Morton,  whose  efforts  had  been  unceasing  to  effect  this 
result,  in  a  letter  to  one  of  his  friends,  dated  May  1,  1634, 
exultingly  writes :  "  When  I  was  first  sent  to  England,  to 
make  complaint, — I  effected  the  business  but  superficially. 
I  have  this  time  taken  deliberation,  and  brought  the  matter 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  138. 

t  Hazard,  i.  344—347.     See  also  I  Mass.   Hist.  Coll.,  iv.  119. 


116  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

to  a  better  pass :  and  it  is  thus  brought  about  that  the  King 
hath  taken  the  matter  into  his  own  hands,  appointed  a 
Committee  of  the  Board,  and  given  order  for  a  General 
Governor  for  the  whole  territory  to  be  sent  over."  But 
this  boast  of  the  inveterate  enemy  of  New  England  was 
never  realised.  Owing  to  the  troubles  in  Scotland  and 
Ireland,  and  the  subsequent  decline  of  the  influence  of 
Laud  and  others  of  the  council,  the  whole  project  failed, 
the  apprehensions  of  the  people  of  New  Plymouth  and 
Massachusetts  were  allayed,  and  both  Winthrop  and 
Morton  have  recorded  the  event  as  a  special  interposition 
of  Providence. 

Governor  Winslow  found  his  situation  at  this  time 
very  critical,  and  his  treatment  was  severe.  He  pre- 
sented a  memorial  in  writing  to  the  commissioners,  in 
which  he  set  forth  the  encroachments  of  the  French  and 
Dutch,  and  prayed  for  "  a  special  warrant  to  the  English 
colonies  to  defend  themselves  against  all  foreign  ene- 
mies."* Governor  Winthrop  censured  this  petition  as 
ill-advised,  "for  such  precedents  might  endanger  our 
liberty,  that  they  should  do  nothing  hereafter  but  by 
commission  out  of  England."! 

The  petition,  however,  was  favorably  received  by 
some  of  the  board.  J  Winslow  was  heard  several  times 
in  support  of  it,  and  pointed  out  a  way  in  which  the  ob-* 
ject  might  have  been  attained  without  any  charge  to  the 
.crown,  by  furnishing  some  of  the  chief  men  of  the  colo- 
nies with  authority,  which  they  would  exercise  at  their 
(Own  expense,  and  without  any  public  disturbances.    This 

*  See  Appendix  No.  I.  Hutchinson's  Hist.  Prov.  Massachusetts  Bay. 
t  Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  172. 
t  Morton,  94. 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  117 

proposal  crossed  the  design  of  Gorges  and  Mason,  whose 
aim  was  to  establish  a  general  government ;  and  the  arch- 
bishop, who  was  engaged  in  their  interest,  put  a  check 
to  Winslow's  proposals,  by  questioning  him  upon  Mor- 
ton's accusations  respecting  his  own  personal  conduct  in 
America. 

The  grave  offences  alledged  against  him  were,  that 
he,  not  being  in  holy  orders,  but  a  mere  layman,  had 
taught  publicly  in  the  church,  and  had  officiated  in  the 
celebration  of  marriages.  To  the  former  charge,  Wins- 
low  answered,  "  that  sometimes,  when  the  church  was 
destitute  of  a  minister,  he  had  exercised  his  gift  for  the 
edification  of  the  brethren."  To  the  latter  he  replied, 
"that,  though  he  had  officiated  as  a  magistrate  in  the 
solemnizing  of  marriage,  yet  he  regarded  it  only  as  a  civil 
contract;*  that  the  people  of  New  Plymouth  had  for  a 
long  time  been  destitute  of  a  minister,  and  were  com- 
pelled by  necessity  to  have  recourse  to  the  magistrate  in 
that  solemnity ;  that  this  was  not  to  them  a  novelty,  hav- 
ing been  accustomed  to  it  in  Holland,  where  he  himself 
had  been  married  by  a  Dutch  magistrate  in  the  State 
House."  On  this  honest  confession,  the  archbishop  pro- 
nounced him  guilty  of  the  crime  of  separation  from  the 
National  Church,  and  prevailed  upon  the  board  to  con- 
sent to  his  imprisonment.  He  was  thereupon  commit- 
ted to  the  Fleet  prison,  where  he  remained  for  seventeen 
weeks  in  confinement.  But  after  that  time,  on  petitioning 
the  board,  he  obtained  a  release. 

*  Ministers  were  never  licensed  to  solemnize  marriages  in  New  Plymouth  ; 
and  in  Massachusetts,  previous  to  the  union  in  1692,  the  magistrates  retained 
this  office  in  their  own  hands  with  peculiar  jealousy.  "  We  are  not  willing  (says 
Winthrop)  to  bring  in  the  English  custom  of  ministers  performing  the  solemni- 
ty of  marriage."— Sav.  Winthrop,  ii.  313. 


118  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

On  his  return  to  New  Plymouth,  the  colony  again 
declared  their  confidence  and  respect  by  choosing  him  to 
the  office  of  governor  for  the  succeeding  year,  (1636.) 
This  was  an  important  period  in  the  history  of  the  colony. 
The  surrender  of  the  Patent  by  the  council  of  Plymouth, 
the  arbitrary,  though  fruitless  commission  to  Laud  and 
others,  and  the  treatment  which  Governor  Winslow  had 
himself  experienced  in  England,  all  served  to  convince 
the  settlers  of  the  necessity  of  adopting  and  declaring 
the  fundamental  laws  of  the  colony.  Hitherto  no  laws 
defining  the  powers  of  the  government  had  been  adopt- 
ed, and  the  governor  and  assistants  maintained  their  au- 
thority rather  by  common  consent,  than  any  delegated 
power.  The  laws  of  England  were  considered  in  force, 
unless  changed  by  colonial  statutes;  but  there  were  no 
lawyers  in  the  colony,  and  but  few  persons  who  had  any 
practical  knowledge  of  the  science  of  law.  The  clergy 
only  understood  its  elementary  principles,  and  they  were 
more  disposed  to  follow  the  laws  of  Moses,  than  the  laws 
of  England. 

The  period  had  now  arrived,  when  all  perceived  the 
necessity  of  defining  the  limits  of  the  powers  and  the  du- 
ties of  the  magistrates,  of  establishing  fundamental  and 
organic  laws,  civil  and  criminal,  and  of  placing  the  gov- 
ernment on  a  stable  foundation.  This  was  done,  by  the 
court  of  associates,  in  November,  1636,  after  which  the 
affairs  of  the  colony  appear  to  have  been  regularly  and 
faithfully  administered  upon  the  basis  of  a  written  code 
of  laws. 

The  Plymouth  colonists  in  religious  matters  were 
more  tolerant  than  their  neighbours  of  Massachusetts. 
When  Roger  Williams,  the  apostle  of  liberty  in  New 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  119 

England,  had  been  driven  from  Massachusetts  for  his 
opinions,  and  was  reduced  to  circumstances  of  extreme 
indigence,  Governor  Winslow  extended  to  him  the  hand 
of  charity,  and  afforded  relief  by  advice  and  money.  "  It 
pleased  the  Father  of  Mercies/5  said  Mr.  Williams,  "  to 
touch  many  hearts  with  relentings,  among  whom  that 
great  and  pious  soul,  Mr.  Winslow,  melted,  and  he  kindly 
furnished  me  at  Providence,  and  put  a  piece  of  gold  into 
the  hands  of  my  wife  for  our  supply." 

The  year  1643,  is  memorable  in  the  history  of  the 
New  England  colonies.  Since  the  establishment  of  New 
Plymouth,  the  colonies  of  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,. 
New  Haven  and  Rhode  Island  had  sprung  into  existence, 
and  while  the  concerns  of  each  were  well  and  safely  man- 
aged by  their  local  councils  and  assemblies,  all  felt  the 
necessity  of  some  general  authority  to  protect  the  common 
interests  of  the  whole.  Governor  Winslow  seems  to 
have  looked  to  the  establishment  of  such  a  power,  when, 
in  1635,  he  petitioned  the  royal  commissioners  in  Lon- 
don for  a  special  warrant  to  the  colonies  to  defend  them- 
selves against  their  enemies.  Certain  it  is,  that  the  sub- 
ject was  discussed,  from  time  to  time,  until  the  want 
of  concert  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  Pequot  war,  satis- 
fied the  people  of  the  importance  and  necessity  of  some 
general  union  for  mutual  defence  against  the  Indians. 
In  1643,  Governor  Winslow  went  to  Boston,  as  one  of 
the  commissioners  from  Plymouth,  where  articles  of 
Confederation  were  drawn  up  and  signed  on  the  19th  of 
May,  by  the  commissioners  of  all  the  colonies  present, 
excepting  those  from  Plymouth,  who,  for  want  of  power 
from  their  general  court,  deferred  signing  until  the  next 
meeting;  and  then,  (Sept.  7,)  they  also  signed  them. 


120  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

Governor  Winslow  continued  to  act  as  one  of  the  Com- 
missioners until  he  left  the  colony  in  1646. 

The  Commissioners  declared,  that,  as  in  nation  and 
religion,  so  in  other  respects  they  be  and  continue  as 
one,  and  henceforth  be  called  and  known  by  the  name 
of  The  United  Colonies  of  New  England. 

The  features  of  this  confederacy,  the  prototype  of 
the  American  Union,  are  thus  described  in  Pitkin's 
Civil  and  Political  History  of  the  United  States : 

6i  By  the  articles  of  confederation,  as  they  were  called, 
these  colonies  entered  into  a  firm  and  perpetual  league 
of  friendship  and  amity,  for  offence  and  defence,  mutual 
advice  and  succor,  upon  all  just  occasions,  both  for  pre- 
serving and  propagating  the  truth  and  liberties  of  the 
Gospel,  and  for  their  own  mutual  safety  and  welfare. 
Each  colony  was  to  retain  its  own  peculiar  jurisdiction 
and  government,  and  no  other  plantation  or  colony  was 
to  be  received  as  a  confederate,  nor  any  two  of  the 
confederates  to  be  united  into  one  jurisdiction,  without 
the  consent  of  the  rest.  The  affairs  of  the  united  colo- 
nies were  to  be  managed  by  a  legislature  to  consist  of 
two  persons,  styled  commissioners,  chosen  from  each 
colony.  These  commissioners  had  power  to  hear,  ex- 
amine, weigh,  and  determine  all  affairs  of  war  or  peace, 
leagues,  aids,  charges,  and  number  of  men  for  war, — di- 
vision of  spoils,  and  whatsoever  is  gotten  by  conquest — 
receiving  of  more  confederates  for  plantations  into  combi- 
nation with  any  of  the  confederates ;  and  all  things  of  a 
like  nature,  which  are  the  proper  concomitants  and  con- 
sequences of  such  a  confederation  for  amity,  offence, 
and  defence;  not  intermeddling  with  the  government  of 
any  of  the  jurisdictions,  which,  by  the  third  article,  is 


EDWARD    WINSL0W.  121 

reserved  entirely  to  themselves.  The  commissioners 
were  to  meet  annually,  in  each  colony,  in  succession,  and 
when  met,  to  choose  a  president,  and  the  determination 
of  any  six  to  be  binding  on  all. 

"  The  expenses  of  all  just  wars  to  be  borne  by  each 
colony,  in  proportion  to  its  number  of  male  inhabitants, 
of  whatever  quality  or  condition,  between  the  ages  of 
sixteen  and  sixty. 

"  In  case  any  colony  should  be  suddenly  invaded,  on 
motion  and  request  of  three  magistrates  of  such  colony, 
the  other  confederates  were  immediately  to  send  aid  to 
the  colony  invaded  in  men,  Massachusetts  one  hundred, 
and  the  other  colonies  forty-five  each,  or  for  a  less  num- 
ber, in  the  same  proportion.  The  commissioners,  how- 
ever, were  very  properly  directed,  afterwards,  to  take 
into  consideration  the  cause  of  such  war  or  invasion,  and 
if  it  should  appear  that  the  fault  was  in  the  colony  in- 
vaded, such  colony  was  not  only  to  make  satisfaction  to 
the  invaders,  but  to  bear  all  the  expenses  of  the  war. 

"  The  commissioners  were  also  authorised  to  frame 
and  establish  agreements  and  orders  in  general  cases  of  a 
civil  nature,  wherein  all  the  plantations  were  interested, 
for  preserving  peace  among  themselves,  and  preventing 
as  much  as  may  be  all  occasions  of  war,  or  difference 
with  others,  as  about  the  free  and  speedy  passage  of  jus- 
tice, in  every  jurisdiction,  to  all  the  confederates  equally 
as  to  their  own,  receiving  those  that  remove  from  one 
plantation  to  another,  without  due  certificates. 

"It  was  also  very  wisely  provided  in  the  articles, 
that  runaway  servants,  and  fugitives  from  justice,  should 
be  returned  to  the  colonies  where  they  belonged,  or 
from  which  they  had  fled. 
16 


122  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

"  If  any  of  the  confederates  should  violate  any  of  the 
articles,  or,  in  any  way  injure  any  one  of  the  other  colo- 
nies, such  breach  of  agreement  or  injury ;  was  to  be 
considered  and  ordered  by  the  commissioners  of  the 
other  colonies."* 

This  confederacy,  which  was  declared  to  be  perpet- 
ual, continued  without  any  essential  alteration,  until  the 
New  England  colonies  were  deprived  of  their  charters 
by  the  arbitrary  proceedings  of  James  II.  In  the  year 
1648,  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Rhode  Island  request- 
ed to  be  admitted  into  the  confederacy,  but  they  were 
informed  that  the  Island  was  within  the  patent  granted 
to  New  Plymouth,  and  therefore  their  request  was  de- 
nied. The  plantations  at  Providence  were  also  denied 
admission,  and  those  beyond  the  Pascataqua  were  not 
admitted,  because  "  they  ran  a  different  course"  from  the 
Puritans. 

Mr.  Winslow  was  for  the  last  time  chosen  to  the 
chief  magistracy  in  1644,  having  since  he  last  filled  that 
office,  been  first  on  the  list  of  magistrates.  He  was  soon 
after  engaged  in  the  public  service  abroad,  and  never 
returned  to  New  England. 

In  1646,  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  prevail- 
ed upon  Governor  Winslow  to  proceed  to  England  in 
their  behalf,  to  answer  complaints  which  had  been  pre- 
ferred by  Samuel  Gorton  and  others,  charging  the  Mas- 
sachusetts authorities  with  religious  intolerance  and  per- 
secution.! Governor  Winthrop  remarks,  that  Mr.  Wins- 
low was  "a  fit  man  to  be  employed  in  our  affairs  in 

*  Pitkin's  History  of  the  U.  S.,  i.  50,  51.     The  Articles  of  Union  are  in 
Winthrop,  Hubbard,  Neal,  &c. 

i  Hutchinson's  Hist,  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  145 — 149. 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  123 

England,  both  in  regard  to  his  abilities  of  presence, 
speech,  courage  and  understanding,  as  also  being  well 
known  to  the  commissioners."*  He  set  sail  about  the 
middle  of  October,  1646. 

Gorton  was  an  enthusiast  of  more  than  common 
ability,  who  gave  the  colonists  much  trouble.  He  came  to 
Boston  in  1636;  went  thence  to  New  Plymouth,  where 
he  caused  some  uneasiness;  from  whence  he  went  to 
Newport,  and  there  behaved  so  that  they  inflicted  cor- 
poral punishment  upon  him.  He  very  soon  got  into 
difficulty  with  the  authorities  of  Massachusetts,  was  ar- 
rested and  imprisoned,  was  afterwards  liberated,  and  in 
1644,  proceeded  to  England.  On  arriving  there,  he 
published  an  account  of  the  proceedings  against  himself 
and  others  in  New  England,  under  the  title  of  "Simpli- 
cities Defence  against  Seven-Headed  Policy.  Or,  Inno- 
cency  Vindicated,  being  unjustly  accused,  and  sorely  Cen- 
sured, by  that  Seven-headed  Church- Government  united 
in  New  England,"  &,c.  Printed  in  London,  in  1646,  in 
111  small  quarto  pages. f 

Governor  Winslow,  on  reaching  London,  found  it 
incumbent  upon  him  to  answer  the  publication  of  Gor- 

*  Winthrop,  ii.  283,  (Savage's  edit.) 

t  Gorton's  book  is  reprinted  entire,  from  the  original  edition,  in  Force's 
Collection  of  Tracts,  Vol.  IV,  No.  6  ;  together  with  the  entire  Letter  of  Gorton 
to  Secretary  Morton,  written  in  June,  1669,  vindicating  himself  from  the 
charges  contained  in  the  Memorial — a  portion  of  which  letter  was  published  by 
Hutchinson  in  the  Appendix  to  his  History  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts 
Bay.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  zealot,- Gorton,  was  cruelly  persecuted  for 
his  singular  theological  opinions,  expressed  with  a  freedom  that  sometimes  de- 
generated into  insolence.  He  was  arrested  by  order  of  court,  and  in  1643,  con- 
demned to  be  "  confined  at  Charlestown,  and  there  set  on  work,  and  to  wear 
such  bolts  or  irons  as  may  hinder  his  escape,"  with  the  further  condition,  that 
if  he  maintain  "  any  of  his  abominable  heresies,"  he  should  be,  on  conviction, 
put  to  death.  Seven  of  his  associates  were  also  confined  in  separate  towna. 
Savage's  Winthrop,  ii.  147. 


124  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

ton,  and  he  accordingly  published  a  reply,  covering  103 
small  quarto  pages,  entitled  "  Hypocrisie  Unmasked : 
By  a  true  Relation  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Governor 
and,  Company  of  the  Massachusetts  against  Samuel  Gor- 
ton, a  notorious  disturber  of  the  Peace,"  &c.  Appended 
to  this  work,  which  has  never  been  reprinted  in  America, 
and  of  which  Young  supposes,  that  no  copy  exists  in 
this  country,  is  a  chapter  entitled,  UJL  Brief e  JYarration 
of  the  true  grounds  or  cause  of  the  first  Planting  of  JYew 
England"  &c.  This  portion  of  the  book  is  reprinted 
by  Young,  as  "  Chap,  xxv,"  of  his  Chronicles.  The 
same  book  was  afterwards  published  in  London,  in  1649, 
with  the  following  title :  "  The  danger  of  tolerating  Level- 
lers, in  a  Civil  State ;  or  a  Historical  JYarration  of  the 
dangerous  practises  and  opinions  wherewith  Samuel  Gor- 
ton and  his  levelling  accomplices  so  much  disturbed  and 
molested  the  several  plantations  in  JYew  England :  By 
Edward  Winslow,  of  Plymouth,  in  JYew  England." 

Besides  the  complaints  of  Gorton  and  his  company, 
Governor  Winslow  was  especially  instructed  to  answer 
the  charges  of  a  want  of  religious  freedom  in  Massa- 
chusetts, and  denial  of  civil  privileges  to  such  as  were 
not  church-members,  preferred  against  that  colony,  by 
Robert  Child,*  William  Vassall,  and  others.  In  answer 
to  the  charge,  that  the  Massachusetts  government  was 
intolerant  and  arbitrary,  he  was  specially  instructed  to 

"  Robert  Child  was  a  physician,  and  had  taken  his  degree  at  the  University 
of  Padua,  in  Italy.  He  came  to  this  country  partly  with  the  view  of  exploring 
the  mines ;  purchased  the  patent  of  Richard  Vines  of  Saco,  in  1645 ;  was  un- 
successful in  his  mining  speculations  ;  afterwards  became  embroiled  in  political 
controversy,  in  Massachusetts,  and  was  fined  and  imprisoned  for  sedition.  He 
went  to  England  in  1647,  and  never  returned.  Major  John  Child,  who  accom- 
panied Vassall  to  England,  was  his  brother.  Winthrop  says,  "  he  was  major  of 
a  regiment  in  Kent."     See  page  ]26. 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  125 

say,  that  "  we  have  four  or  five  hundred  express  laws, 
as  near  the  laws  of  England  as  may  be  ;  and  where  we 
have  no  law,  we  judge  by  the  word  of  God  as  near  as 
we  can."  And  in  reference  to  the  well  known  objections 
in  Massachusetts  to  the  scheme  of  a  general  govern- 
ment for  New  England,  he  was  instructed  to  assert  for 
that  colony  their  absolute  power  of  government,  as  given 
to  them  by  their  charter.* 

Governor  Winslow  had  several  hearings  before  the 
commissioners  for  the  affairs  of  New  England,  among 
whom  were  the  Earl  of  Warwick  and  Sir  Henry  Vane, 
both  zealous  Puritans,  and  friendly  to  New  England,  by 
whose  influence,  doubtless,  the  colony  escaped  censure. 

The  times  had  greatly  changed,  and  the  Puritans 
being  in  power  in  England,  Mr.  Winslow  had  great 
advantage  in  this  business,  from  the  credit  and  esteem 
which  he  enjoyed  with  that  party.  We  have  no  account 
of  the  particulars  of  this  agency,  but  only  in  general, 
that  "by  his  prudent  management  he  prevented  any 
damage,  and  cleared  the  colony  from  any  blame  or  dis- 
honour." 

But  Massachusetts  was  not  alone  in  her  dread  of  the 
advance  of  sectarism.  Rhode  Island  had  been  excluded 
from  the  league  on  account  of  her  toleration  of  what  was 
deemed  to  be  heresy,  and  a  better  understanding  of  the 
true  principles  of  liberty  was  at  the  same  time  struggling 
manfully  for  a  foothold  in  New  Plymouth.  Governor 
Winslow,  in  a  letter  to  Governor  Winthrop,  dated  "  24 
(9th)  1645,"  laments  in  the  following  strain  the  pre- 
valence of  a  spirit  of  toleration  in  New  Plymouth,  which 
had  already  gained  over  a  majority  of  the  deputies,  and 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  ii.  300. 


1  26  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

three  of  the  assistants:  "The  sum  of  it  was,  (says  he,) 
to  allow  and  maintain  full  and  free  tolerance  of  religion 
to  all  men  that  would  preserve  the  civil  peace,  and  sub- 
mit unto  government ;  and  there  was  no  limitation  or 
exception  against  Turk,  Jew,  Papist,  Arian,  Socinian, 
Nicolaitan,  Familist,  or  any  other,  &c.  But  our  Gov- 
ernor and  several  of  us  having  expressed  the  sad 
consequences  would  follow,  especially  myself  and  Mr. 
Prence,  yet  .notwithstanding  it  was  required,  according 
to  order,  to  be  voted.  But  the  Governor  would  not  suf- 
fer it  to  come  to  the  vote,  as  being  that  indeed  would 
eat  out  the  power  of  godliness,  Slc.  By  this  you  may 
see  that  all  the  troubles  of  N.  E.  are  not  at  the  Massa- 
chusetts."* 

William  Vassall,  mentioned  above,  was  of  Scituate  ;  a 
man  somewhat  in  advance  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived, 
in  his  views  of  civil  and  religious  liberty. f  He  was  one 
of  the  agents  sent  to  England  in  1646,  with  complaints 
against  the  Massachusetts  colony.  Soon  after  his  arrival 
there,  a  pamphlet,  purporting  to  have  been  written  by 
Major  John  Child,  and  no  doubt  prepared  with  the  con- 
currence if  not  assistance  of  Vassall,  was  published, 
under  the  quaint  title  of  "New  England's  Jonas  cast  up 
at  London,"  &c. — a  small  quarto,  of  22  pages,  printed 
in  London,  in  1647.     In  a  postscript  to  this  pamphlet, 

*  Hutchinson's  Coll.  relative  to  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  154. 

t  William  Vassall  was  one  of  the  first  assistants  of  Massachusetts,  chosen 
in  England  in  1629,  and  came  over  in  1630,  in  the  fleet  with  Winthrop.  He 
soon  after  returned  to  England ;  but  came  back  in  1635,  and  settled  in  Scituate 
in  the  colony  of  New  Plymouth,  where  he  remained  until  about  1650,  when, 
having  laid  the  foundation  of  several  large  estates  in  the  West  Indies,  he  re- 
moved to  Barbadoes,  and  died  there  in  1655.  Hutchinson  says  he  was  a  man 
of  pleasant  and  affable  manners,  but  always  in  opposition  to  government  both 
in  Massachusetts  and  Plymouth. 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  127 

Major  Child  attacks  the  book  published  by  Winslow 
against  Gorton,  ("Hypocrisie  Unmasked/')  and  charac- 
terises him  as  "  a  principal  opposer  of  the  laws  of  Eng- 
land in  New  England."* 

Winthrop  characterises  Vassall  as  "  a  man  never  at 
rest  but  when  he  was  in  the  fire  of  contention."  Mr. 
Winslow,  who  held  the  pen  of  an  able  controversialist, 
was  of  course  not  long  in  preparing  a  keen  and  pungent 
answer,  vindicating  the  colony,  and  repelling  the  accu- 
sations of  his  assailant ;  and,  as  if  the  remark  of  Gov- 
ernor Winthrop  respecting  Vassall  had  suggested  it,  he 
gives  his  pamphlet  the  title  of  "New  England's  Sala- 
mander, discovered  by  an  irreligious  and  scornful  Pam- 

*  The  title  to  Major  Child's  pamphlet,  was  probably  suggested  by  the  follow- 
ing circumstances.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Cotton,  at  his  Thursday  lecture  in  Boston 
before  the  sailing  of  the  ship,  in  which  Major  Child  and  Mr.  Vassall  had  taken 
passage  to  London,  preached  from  Cant.  ii.  15 :  "  Take  us  the  foxes,  the  little 
foxes,  that  spoil  the  vines,"  &c. ;  and  in  his  uses  took  occasion  to  say,  that  he 
advised  the  shipmaster,  that  if  storms  did  arise,  to  search  if  they  had  not  in  any 
chest  or  trunk  any  Jonas  on  board,  which  if  you  find,  I  do  not  advise  you  to  throw 
the  persons  overboard,  but  the  writings.  Storms  did  arise  :  and  some  of  the  pas- 
sengers remembering  Mr.  Cotton's  sermon,  a  woman  from  among  them  came  from 
between  decks  about  midnight,  to  Mr.  William  Vassall,  who  lay  in  the  great  cabin, 
(but  for  the  present  was  in  the  steerage  doorway  looking  abroad,)  and  earnestly 
desired  him,  if  there  were  any  Jonas  in  the  ship  it  might  be  thrown  overboard. 
He  asked  her  why  she  came  to  him  ?  and  she  said,  because  it  was  thought  he  had 
some  writings  against  the  people  of  God.  But  he  answered  her  that  he  had 
nothing  except  a  petition  to  Parliament  that  they  might  enjoy  the  liberty  of  Eng- 
lish subjects,  and  that  could  be  no  Jonas.  After  this  she  went  into  the  great 
cabin  to  Mr.  Thomas  Fowle,  in  a  like  distracted  manner,  who  told  her  he  had 
nothing  but  a  copy  of  the  petition,  which  himself  and  others  had  presented  to  the 
Court  at  Boston ;  but  that  if  she  and  others  thought  that  to  be  the  cause  of  the 
storm,  she  and  they  might  do  what  they  would  with  it.  So  she  took  and  carried 
it  between  decks,  to  them  from  whom  she  came,  and  they  agreed  to  throw  it 
overboard ;  but  they  had  many  great  storms  after  that.  After  their  arrival  at 
London,  the  report  of  an  astonishing  miracle  was  spread  abroad,  viz  :  the  saving 
of  the  ship  and  passengers  by  throwing  the  petition  to  Parliament  overboard ; 
whereas  "  it  was  only  the  copy  of  a  petition  to  their  own  Court  at  Boston  ;  and 
the  petition  to  Parliament  was  still  in  the  ship,  together  with  another  copy  of  that 
which  was  thrown  overboard,  and  were  as  well  saved  as  their  lives  and  other 
goods,  and  are  here  to  be  seen  and  made  use  of  in  convenient  time."  [See  tract 
(imperfect)  in  II  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  iv.  107.] 


128  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

phlet,  called  New  England's  Jonas  cast  up  at  London, 
Sec,  owned  by  Major  John  Childe,  bat  not  probable  to  be 
written  by  him,"  fyc.     London,  1647,  29  pp.  sm.  4to.* 

The  civilization  of  the  Indians,  and  their  conversion 
to  the  Christian  religion,  were  objects  which  the  people 
of  the  colonies  never  lost  sight  of;  and  in  this  great  and 
good  work,  Mr.  Winslow  was,  from  principle,  very  zeal- 
ously engaged.  While  in  England,  he  employed  his  in- 
terest with  the  members  of  Parliament,  and  other  gen- 
tlemen of  quality  and  fortune,  to  erect  a  corporation 
there  for  the  prosecution  of  the  design.  For  this  pur- 
pose an  act  of  Parliament  was  passed,  incorporating  a 
society  in  England  "  for  propagating  the  Gospel  in  New 
England."*  The  commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies 
were  constituted  a  board  of  correspondents,  and  distri- 
butors of  the  money,  which  was  supplied  in  England  by 
charitable  donations  from  all  the  cities,  towns,  and  pa- 
rishes, in  the  kingdom,  f  By  the  influence  and  exer- 
tions of  both  these  respectable  bodies,  missions  were 
supported  among  the  Indians  of  New  England;  the 
Bible  and  other  books  of  piety  were  translated  into  the 
Indian  tongue,  and  printed  for  their  use;  and  great 
pains  were  taken  by  several  worthy  ministers  and  other 
gentlemen  to  instruct  the  Indians,  and  reduce  them  to  a 

*  See  tract  in  III  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  ii.  110. 

*  Hazard,  ii.  146.  The  charter  of  this  Society  bears  date  July  27, 1649.  In  aid 
of  the  formation  of  the  Society,  a  tract  was  published  by  Governor  Winslow,  in 
London,  in  that  year,  entitled  "The  Glorious  Progress  of  the  Gospel  amongst 
the  Indians  in  New  England,"  &c.  It  was  dedicated  by  Winslow  to  the  Parlia- 
ment, and  contained  some  introductory  remarks  from  his  pen.  The  rest  of  the 
pamphlet  consisted  of  three  letters  from  Eliot,  and  one  from  Mayhew,  with  an 
appendix  by  J.  D.  [John  Downam  or  John  Drury.]  This  tract  is  reprinted  in 
III  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  iv.  69. 

t  Hazard's  Collection,  i.  636. 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  129 

civilized  state.  Under  the  auspices  of  this  Society,  the 
celebrated  John  Eliot  undertook  his  apostolic  and  suc- 
cessful labors  among  the  Indians  of  Massachusetts,  aided 
in  the  great  work  by  the  two  Mayhews,  the  younger 
Cotton,  and  others.  Of  this  corporation,  which  he  had 
done  much  to  establish,  Mr.  Winslow  continued  during 
life  to  be  an  active  and  successful  member  in  the  promo- 
tion of  its  interests  in  England. 

The  various  employments  of  Governor  Winslow  in 
England,  on  behalf  of  the  colonies,  and  his  own  high 
character,  had  given  him  a  standing  such  as  no  other 
New  England  man  enjoyed  at  this  time.  His  abilities 
were  acknowledged  by  the  party  then  paramount  in 
England,  and  he  found  so  much  employment  there  and 
elsewhere,  that  he  never  returned  to  New  Plymouth. 
Judge  Davis,  in  a  note  to  Morton,  (p.  261,)  says:  Mr. 
Winslow  was  one  of  the  commissioners  appointed  to  de- 
termine the  value  of  the  English  ships  seized  and  de- 
stroyed by  the  King  of  Denmark,  and  for  which  resti- 
tution was  to  be  made,  according  to  the  treaty  of  peace 
made  with  the  Protector,  April  5,  1654.  The  com- 
missioners were  required  to  meet  at  Goldsmith's  Hall, 
in  London,  in  the  month  of  June;  and,  in  case  they 
should  not  agree  by  a  certain  day  in  August,  were  to  be 
shut  up  in  a  chamber,  without  fire,  candles,  meat,  or 
drink,  or  any  other  refreshment,  until  they  should  agree. 
Of  course,  an  order  so  peremptory  and  so  characteristic 
of  the  times  as  this,  would  be  likely  to  be  effectual,  and 
accordingly  we  do  not  find  that  the  commissioners  had 
any  difficulty  in  coming  to  an  agreement. 

When  Oliver  Cromwell  (1655)  planned  an  expedi- 
tion against  the  Spaniards  in  the  West  Indies,  and  sent 
17 


130  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

§ 

Admiral  Penn  and  General  Venables  to  execute  it,  he 
appointed  three  commissioners  to  superintend  and  di- 
rect their  operations,  of  which  number  Winslow  was  the 
chief;  the  other  two  being  Richard  Holdrip  and  Ed- 
ward Blagge.*  Their  object  was  to  attack  St.  Domingo, 
the  only  place  of  strength  which  the  Spaniards  at  that 
time  had  in  Hispaniola.  It  has  been  remarked,  that 
Cromwell  well  understood  the  character  of  Mr.  Wins- 
low,  when  he  placed  him  at  the  head  of  this  commission; 
for  both  commanders  and  many  of  the  officers  employed 
in  the  expedition,  were  strongly  suspected  of  cherish- 
ing a  loyal  attachment  to  the  House  of  Stuart,  and  of 
nourishing  a  secret  dislike  to  the  Protector.  He  there- 
fore placed  in  this  responsible  situation,  one  whom  he 
could  trust. f 

The  commanders  disagreed  in  their  tempers  and 
views,  and  the  control  of  the  commissioners  was  of  no 
avail.  The  troops,  ill-appointed  and  badly  provided,  were 
landed  at  too  great  a  distance  from  the  city,  and  lost 
their  way  in  the  woods.  Worn  out  with  hunger  and 
thirst,  heat  and  fatigue,  they  were  routed  by  an  incon- 
siderable number  of  Spaniards  :  six  hundred  were  slain, 
and  the  remnant  took  refuge  on  board  their  vessels. 

To  compensate  as  far  as  possible  for  this  unfortunate 
event,  the  fleet  sailed  for  Jamaica,  which  surrendered 
without  any  resistance.     But  Mr.  Winslow,  who  par- 

*  Hume,  chap.  lxi.  Two  interesting  letters  of  Winslow,  written  from  Bar- 
badoes,  March  16  and  30,  1654-5,  are  preserved  in  Thurloe's  State  Papers,  iii. 
249,  325.  In  the  first,  his  opinion  of  oaths  is  thus  expressed  :  "  Our  want  of  com- 
missioners is  very  great I  beseech  you,  in  case  any  be  sent,  let  us  have 

men  of  such  principles  as  will  neither  scruple  to  give  or  take  an  oath.  For  my 
part,  I  look  upon  an  oath  as  an  ordinance  of  God,  and  as  an  essential  part  of 
government,  the  very  bond  of  society,  yea,  so  necessary,  as  without  it,  the  magis- 
trate will  not  be  able  to  determine  between  man  and  man." 

t  Baylies,  ii.  20. 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  131 

took  of  the  chagrin  of  the  defeat,  did  not  live  to  enjoy 
the  pleasures  of  victory.  In  the  passage  between  His- 
paniola  and  Jamaica,  the  heat  of  the  climate  threw  him 
into  a  fever,  which,  operating  with  the  dejection  of  his 
mind,  put  an  end  to  his  life,  on  the  eighth  of  May,  1655, 
in  the  sixty-first  year  of  his  age.  His  body  was  com- 
mitted to  the  deep,  with  the  honors  of  war,  forty-two 
guns  being  fired  by  the  fleet  on  that  occasion. 

The  following  well  meant  but  inelegant  verses,  were 
written  by  one  of  the  passengers  on  board  the  ship  in 
which  he  died : 

"  The  Eighth  of  May,  West  from  'Spaniola  shore, 
God  took  from  us  our  Grand  Commissioner, 
Winslow  by  Name  ;  a  man  in  Chiefest  Trust, 
Whose  Life  was  sweet,  and  Conversation  just ; 
Whose  Parts  and  wisdom  most  men  did  excel ; 
An  honor  to  his  place,  as  all  can  tell."* 

Before  his  departure  from  New  England,  Governor 
Winslow  had  made  a  settlement  on  a  valuable  tract  of 
land  in  Marshfield,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Cares- 
well,  probably  from  an  ancient  castle  of  that  name,  nine 
miles  from  Stafford,  in  Staffordshire,  a  family  seat  of  the 
Vanes,  ancestors  of  the  Earls  of  Darlington  and  West- 
moreland.f 

Governor  Winslow  was  twice  married.  His  first 
wife,  Elizabeth,  as  has  already  been  stated,  died  in  March, 
1621.  His  son,  Edward,  who  came  over  with  him,  is 
supposed  to  have  died  about  the  same  time.  By  his 
second  wife,  Susanna,  who  was  the  widow  of  William 

*  Morton's  Memorial,  143. 

1  In  Speed's  Great  Britain,  (b.  i.  ch.  35,)  Carswall  is  named  as  one  of  the 
thirteen  ancient  castles  in  Staffordshire ;  and  Bowen  (Univ.  Geog.,  i.  225,) 
places  Careswell  among  the  chief  seats  of  the  nobility  of  the  county.  The 
Marshfield  estate,  which  for  many  years  remained  in  the  Winslow  family,  bas 
recently  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  Hon.  Daniel  Webstbr. 


132  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

White,  and  to  whom  he  was  married  in  May,  1621,  he 
had  a  daughter  Susanna,  and  probably  others.  His  only 
son  by  this  marriage,  Josiah  Winslow,  became  a  distin- 
guished man  in  the  colony;  was  a  magistrate,  governor, 
and  commander  in  chief  of  the  forces  of  all  the  colonies 
of  New  England,  in  the  war  of  1675  with  the  Indians. 
He  died  in  1680,  at  the  age  of  51.* 

Edward  Winslow  was  the  eldest  of  a  family  of  five 
sons  and  three  daughters,  the  children  of  Edward  and 
Magdalen  Winslow,  of  Droitwitch,  in  England.  Ed- 
ward was  born  19  Oct.  1595,  John  in  April,  1597,  Ely- 
nor  in  April,  1598,  Kenelm  29  April,  1599,  Gilbert  in 
Oct.,  1600,  Elizabeth  in  March,  1601,  Magdalen  26  Dec. 
1604,  and  Josiah  in  Feb.  1605. 

John,  the  eldest  brother  of  Edward,  came  over  in 
1621,  in  the  ship  Fortune,  and  was  married  at  New  Ply- 
mouth, sometime  prior  to  1627,  to  Mary  Chilton,  daugh- 
ter of  James  Chilton,  one  of  the  first  emigrants  in  the 
Mayflower.  The  tradition  in  the  family,  confirmed  by 
a  writing  left  at  her  death  by  Mrs.  Ann  Taylor,  in  1773, 
the  last  grand-child  of  John  Winslow,  is,  that  Mary 
Chilton  "  was  the  first  female  who  set  her  foot  on  the 
American  shore."  This  may  refer  either  to  the  landing 
at  Cape  Cod,  where,  as  is  mentioned  by  Belknap,  "  the 
women  went  ashore  to  wash  their  clothes;"  or,  to  the 
landing  at  Plymouth.  The  descendants  of  John  Alden 
claim  for  him  the  honor  of  having  been  the  first  to  leap 
upon  Plymouth  Rock;  but  the  tradition  is  best  received, 
which  accords  that  feat  to  the  adventurous  maiden. 
John  Winslow  resided  in  Plymouth  till  about  1656. 
His  children  were  mostly,  if  not  all,  born  there.    His  oct- 

*  See  Memoir  of  Josiah  Winslow. 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  133 

cupation  was  that  of  a  merchant ;  and  he  held  different 
municipal  offices  in  Plymouth.  In  1661,  with  Antipas 
Boies,  Edward  Tyng,  and  Thomas  Brattle,  he  purchas- 
ed the  colony  lands  on  the  Kennebeck  river,  for  .£400 
sterling,  and  they  were  afterwards  well  known  as  the 
"Plymouth  Company  in  Maine."  His  place  of  resi- 
dence was  in  the  north  part  of  ancient  Plymouth, 
called  "  Plain  Dealing."  This  estate  was  sold  to  his 
son-in-law,  Edward  Gray,  about  the  time  of  his  removal 
to  Boston,  and  was,  by  the  latter,  disposed  of  to  the  Ply- 
mouth colony  in  1662,  who  purchased  it  as  a  residence 
for  Governor  Prence.  John  Winslow  died  in  Boston  in 
1674,  aged  78  years;  his  wife,  Mary  Winslow,  died  in 
Boston  in  1678.  Their  children  were,  six  sons — John; 
Isaac,  who  married  a  Parnell ;  Benjamin ;  Edward ;  Jo- 
seph; and  Samuel,  who  died  at  Boston  in  1680;  and 
five  daughters — Sarah,  whose  first  husband  was  Miles 
Standish,  Jr.,  second,  Tobias  Payne,  ancestor  of  the 
Paines  of  Boston,  and  third,  a  Mr.  Middlecot ;  Susanna, 
who  married  Robert  Latham ;  Mercy,  who  married  Ar- 
thur Harris ;  Ann,  who  married  a  Le  Blond,  of  Boston ; 
and  Mary,  who  married  Edward  Gray,  of  Plymouth, 
died  in  1663,  leaving  two  or  three  daughters  and  one 
son.  One  of  these  daughters  married  Nathaniel  South- 
worth  in  1671.  Mr.  South  worth  bought  the  estate  of 
"Plain  Dealing"  in  1677,  but  in  after  years  removed 
to  Middleborough,  and  there  died,  leaving  three  sons 
and  several  daughters. 

It  is  said  that  John  Winslow,  eldest  son  of  John, 
brought  the  Prince  of  Orange's  declaration  from  Nevis 
to  New  England,  in  Feb.  1*689,  for  which  he  was  im-- 
prisoned  by  Sir  Edmund  Andros.     From  the  eldest  son 


134  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

John,  (through  John,  son  of  the  latter,)  it  is  supposed 
that  the  family  of  the  late  General  John  Winslow,  of 
Boston,  is  descended.* 

Edward,  the  fourth  son,  it  is  thought,  had  a  first 
wife  in  Plymouth  before  he  left  that  place.  His  second 
wife  was  Elizabeth  Hutchinson,  daughter  of  Anne  Hutch- 
inson, celebrated  in  the  history  of  Massachusetts  for  her 
religious  zeal,  persecution,  banishment,  and  tragical 
death  in  1643,  (being  slain  by  the  Indians  on  Long-Island 
with  her  family  of  sixteen  persons,  except  one  daugh- 
ter.) Edward  Winslow  died  in  Boston  in  1682,  aged 
48  years;  his  wife  Elizabeth,  in  1728,  aged  89.  The 
deaths  of  the  other  children  of  John  Winslow,  except 
Samuel,  who  died  in  1680,  are  not  known.  The  chil- 
dren of  Edward  and  Elizabeth  were,  Edward  and  four 
daughters,  of  whom  Susanna  married  an  Alden,  supposed 
to  be  a  son  of  John  Alden,  commander  of  the  Province 

*  Brig.  Gen.  John  Winslow  was  born  in  Boston,  29  Sept.  1753,  and  bred  a 
merchant.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he  entered  the  Revolutionary  Army,  as 
Deputy  Paymaster  General,  with  the  rank  of  Lieutenant,  in  the  Northern  Depart- 
ment. He  joined  the  army  at  Quebec,  under  Gen.  Montgomery,  and  was  in 
the  battle.  June  8th,  1777,  he  received  a  commission  as  Captain  of  Artillery 
and  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Maj.  Ebenezer  Stevens,  late  a  Major 
General  in  New  York.  He  was  in  the  battle  which  resulted  in  the  capture  of 
Burgoyne,  and  one  of  those  who  took  the  account  of  the  stores,  &c,  found  in 
his  camp;  and  also  had  the  charge  of  many  prisoners.  He  was  afterwards  sta- 
tioned at  West  Point,  and  White  Plains.  When  the  American  Army  was  re- 
treating, under  Gen.  Wooster,  from  Quebec,  and  the  enemy  close  upon  their 
heels,  he  saved  the  public  chest,  and  lost  his  own  baggage,  and  wardrobe,  as  val- 
uable as  those  of  any  officer  in  the  line.  He  was  thus  left  destitute  of  clothing, 
not  having  sufficient  to  change  his  linen  for  thirty-five  days.  He  received,  on  the 
settlement  of  his  accounts  as  Paymaster — the  footing  of  which  was  $865,700 — 
a  certificate  from  the  Paymaster  General,  wherein  his  conduct  was  highly  ap- 
proved ;  and,  it  was  said,  he  was  almost  the  only  Paymaster  who  had  faithfully 
accounted  for  the  public  money.  He  was  at  the  battle  of  Ticonderoga,  and  when 
the  army,  under  Gen.  St.  Clair,  retreated  from  that  place,  he  again  saved  the 
books  and  property  entrusted  to  his  care,  and  lost  most  of  his  own.  He  ob- 
tained an  honorable  discharge,  in  Nov.  1778  ;  was  afterwards  a  brigadier  general 
of  militia  and  held  various  civil  trusts.    He  died  29  Nov.  1819. 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  135 

Sloop,  who,  being  accused  of  witchcraft  during  the 
witch  mania  of  1692,  suffered  imprisonment  fifteen  weeks 
in  Boston.  Another  daughter,  Mrs.  Ann  Taylor,  died  in 
Milton,  in  1773,  aged  94 — and  was  the  last  surviving 
grand-child  of  John  Winslow  and  Mary  Chilton. 

Edward,  son  of  Edward,  and  grandson  of  John,  was 
born  in  1669;  married  Hannah  Moodey,  daughter  of 
Rev.  Joshua  Moodey,  minister  of  the  first  church  in 
Boston,  a  zealous  opponent  of  the  witch  mania,  and  who 
suffered  for  it  by  being  obliged  to  leave  his  church. 
Edward  Winslow  had  a'  family  of  nine  sons  and  two 
daughters.  His  eldest  son  Joshua,  and  youngest,  Isaac, 
were  two  of  the  principal  merchants  in  Boston,  from 
1730  to  1768.  One  of  his  sons,  John,  also  lived  in  Bos- 
ton till  1775,  and  removed  to  Dunstable,  where  he  died 
in  1778,  aged  88. 

Two  of  his  sons,  William  and  Samuel,  were  in  the 
commissariat  department  at  the  siege  of  Louisburg  in 
1745,  and  both  died  there.  The  youngest  daughter  of 
Edward  Winslow,  by  a  second  wife,  Elizabeth,  married 
Richard  Clark,  an  eminent  merchant  of  Boston ;  and  a 
daughter  of  the  latter  married  John  S.  Copley,  the  cele- 
brated painter.  Their  descendants  are"  in  England, 
Canada,  and  Boston.  Edward  Winslow  was  a  gold- 
smith; he  was  a  Colonel  of  the  Boston  Regiment, 
and  first  sheriff  of  the  County  of  Suffolk ;  from  about 
1722  to  1742,  his  residence  was  in  State  street,  the 
estate  since  the  site  of  the  Tremont  Bank.  He  died  in 
Boston  in  1753,  aged  84. 

Joshua  Winslow,  great  grandson  of  John  Winslow 
and  Mary  Chilton,  married  Elizabeth  Savage,  and  had  a 
family  of  sixteen  children.     He  died  in  October,  1767. 


136  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

Isaac  Winslow,  brother  of  the  aforesaid,  married  Lucy 
Waldo,  daughter  of  Brigadier  General  Samuel  Waldo ; 
his  second  wife  was  Jemima  Dubuc.  He  had  by  the 
first  wife  eleven  children,  and  two  by  the  last.  He  was  a 
loyalist,  having  been  appointed  a  mandamus  counsellor 
in  1774.  He  died  in  New  York,  in  1777. — His  descend- 
ants are  principally  in  Boston,  but  many  are  also  in 
England. 

Edward,  the  eldest  son  of  Joshua,  and  great-great- 
grandson  of  John  Winslow  and  Mary  Chilton,  became 
a  clergyman  of  the  Episcopal  church,  after  some  opposi- 
tion from  his  friends,  (having  by  them  been  destined  for 
the  Congregational  ministry,  and  to  escape  from  whose 
control  he  betook  himself  for  a  while  to  commerce,) 
and  succeeded  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  at  Stratford,  Ct. 
From  1764  to  1777,  he  was  Rector  of  Quincy;  but 
as,  on  the  Revolution  opening,  he  could  neither  con- 
sent to  omit,  nor  yet  safely  read,  the  prayers  for  the 
King,  he  resigned,  and  removed  to  New  York  city. 
Here  he  died  suddenly,  while  ascending  the  steps  of  his 
house,  on  his  return  from  a  funeral,  Oct.  31,  1780,  aged 
59,  and  was  buried  under  the  altar  of  St.  George's 
church.  From  him  are  descended  those  of  that  name  in 
North  Carolina.  Joshua,  a  younger  brother,  was  a  mer- 
chant, married  a  daughter  of  Commodore  Loring,  and 
died  in  Boston  in  1775.  His  descendants  are  all  in  Eng- 
land. 

Margaret  married  Colonel  Benjamin  Pollard,  Sheriff 
of  Suffolk,  and  many  of  their  descendants  are  now  living 
in  Boston.  Isaac,  the  youngest,  born  in  1743,  was  edu- 
cated for  a  profession,  but  abandoned  this  and  became  a 
merchant.     His  first  wife  was  a  daughter  of  the  Rev. 


EDWARD    WINSLOW.  137 

John  Sparhawk,  of  Salem,  ancestor  of  the  Sparhawks 
of  New  Hampshire ;  his  second  wife  was  Mary  Davis, 
daughter  of  Benjamin  Davis,  of  Boston,  by  whom  he 
had  six  sons  and  two  daughters.  He  died  in  Boston  in 
1793.  His  descendants  are  in  Massachusetts,  New  York, 
and  South  Carolina.* 

Keneim  Winslow,  the  second  brother  of  Governor 
Winslow,  was  at  Plymouth  before  1633.  He  married 
Helen,  daughter  of  John  Adams,  of  Plymouth,  in  1634; 
he  had  lands  in  Yarmouth,  in  1640,  died  whilst  on  a  visit 
at  Salem,  and  was  buried  Sept.  13,  1672,  at  the  age  of 
73. f  From  him  are  descended  the  families  settled  in 
Yarmouth,  and  in  Maine.  Oliver  Winslow,  who  set- 
tled at  Scituate,  in  1730,  was  of  the  third  generation 
from  Keneim  Winslow,  and  had  a  son  Oliver,  who  was 
killed  in  the  French  war  of  1758,  a  son  who  settled  at 
Nobleborough,  Maine,  and  a  son  Nathaniel,  who  inherit- 
ed the  bold  spirit  of  his  distinguished  ancestors.  He 
entered  the  revolutionary  army  in  1776,  rose  to  the  rank 
of  major,  and  distinguished  himself  in  the  southern  ex- 
peditions.]; 

Gilbert  Winslow,  third  brother  of  the  governor,  came 
over  in  the  Mayflower;  went  to  Pascataqua,  after  the  set- 
tlement was  commenced  there ;  and  the  tradition  is,  that 
he  went  from  thence  to  England,  and  never  returned. 
It  does  not  appear  that  he  left  any  family  in  New 
Hampshire.  The  only  taxable  person  bearing  the  name 
of  Winslow,  resident  in  that  province  in  1732,  was  Sam- 
uel Winslow  of  Kingston,  probably  a  son  of  Samuel 

*  Thacher's  Hist.  Plymouth,  94. 
t  Marshfield  Records. 
X  Deane's  Scituate,  390 

18 


138  EDWARD    WINSLOW. 

Winslow,  who  was  killed  by  the  Indians  at  that  place  in 
1710. 

Josiah,  the  youngest  brother  of  the  first  Governor 
Winslow,  resided  in  Scituate  in  1637,  and  was  after- 
wards of  Marshfield.     He  died  in  1674,  aged  69. 

Of  the  sisters  of  Governor  Winslow,  Elizabeth  died 
in  January,  1604,  and  neither  of  them  ever  came  to  New 
England.* 

A  fine  portrait  of  Governor  Edward  Winslow  is  in 
possession  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  where 
other  family  pictures  have  been  deposited  by  one  of  his 
descendants.  The  picture  of  Governor  Winslow  was 
painted  in  London,  in  1651,  when  he  was  in  the  57th 
year  of  his  age. 

The  device  on  the  seal  used  by  Governor  Winslow, 
represents  a  pelican  feeding  its  young.  As  an  emblem 
of  paternal  affection,  it  is  placed  in  connection  with  the 
names  of  some  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  pilgrims, 
whose  regard  for  posterity  prompted  to  their  great  en- 
terprise, and  influenced  them  to  a  firm  endurance  of  many 
hardships,  dangers  and  sorrows. f 

*  For  additional  genealogical  notes,  see  Memoir  of  Josiah  Winslow,  in  the 
subsequent  pages  of  this  volume. 

1  Davis'  note  to  Morton,  468. 


139 


IV.     THOMAS   PRENCE. 


The  fourth  governor  of  the  colony  of  New  Plymouth; 
was  Thomas  Prence,  who  was  a  native  of  Lechlade,  a 
small  parish  in  Gloucestershire,  England,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river  Thames,  where  his  father  and  grand- 
father resided.  He  was  born  in  the  year  1600.  His 
father  was  of  the  proscribed  sect  of  the  puritans,  or  sepa- 
ratists from  the  Church  of  England,  and  to  avoid  the  per- 
secution which  every  where  followed  the  non-conform- 
ists, in  his  native  land,  he  is  supposed  to  have  gone  with 
the  early  emigrants  to  Leyden.  We  have  no  accounts  of 
the  family  after  reaching  that  city,  or  of  the  education,  or 
early  pursuits  of  Mr.  Prence.  But  from  the  fact  that  he 
brought  a  respectable  patrimony  to  America,  we  are  led  to 
infer  that  his  family  were  in  easy  circumstances,  and  that 
they  were  voluntary  exiles,  on  account  of  a  faith  which 
was  dear  to  them,  rather  than  needy  adventurers,  seeking 
to  mend  their  fortunes  in  a  strange  land. 

Mr.  Prence  came  to  America  in  1621,  in  the  ship 
Fortune,  which  arrived  at  New  Plymouth  in  November, 
being  at  that  time  in  the  twenty-second  year  of  his  age. 
In  the  same  ship,  beside  others  of  note  in  their  day, 
came  Robert  Cushman,  the  distinguished  and  always  effi- 
cient friend  of  the  colony;  John  Winslow,  the  elder 
brother  of  Governor  Winslow ;  and  William  Hilton,  who 
afterwards  commenced  the  settlement  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  who  wrote  by  the  return  of  the  Fortune  a 
glowing  account  of  New  Plymouth,  in  which  he  says, 
exultingly,  "  We  are  all  freeholders ;  the  rent-day  doth 


140  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

not  trouble  us;  and  all  those  good  blessings  we  have,  of 
which  and  what  we  list  in  their  seasons  for  taking."* 
In  a  short  time  after  his  arrival,  Mr.  Prence  was  chosen 
one  of  the  assistants,  and  became  an  active  and  ulti- 
mately an  influential  man  in  the  affairs  of  the  colony. 

Public  office  in  the  days  of  the  pilgrims,  was  little 
sought  after.  It  presented  neither  a  prize  to  tempt  the 
cupidity  of  the  unworthy,  nor  a  source  of  corruption 
from  any  patronage  attached  to  it.  The  unworthy  were 
thus  kept  from  seeking  it,  and  the  people  were  unwil- 
ling to  trust  any  but  the  wisest  and  best  men.  Governor 
Bradford,  who  had  served  the  colony  from  1621  to  1632, 
esteemed  it  a  mark  of  the  popular  favor  to  be  relieved 
in  the  following  year,  and  when  Winslow,  who  suc- 
ceeded him,  declined  a  re-election  in  1634,  he  again 
urged  the  choice  of  another  than  himself.  But  who 
should  be  the  man  ?  Carver,  and  Bradford,  and 
Winslow,  had  successively  filled  the  office.  The  next 
upon  the  list  of  the  first-comers  by  the  Mayflower,  was 
the  venerable  William  Brewster;  but  he  was  the 
ruling  elder  of  the  church,  and  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
offices  were  among  the  puritans  deemed  incompatible. 
Isaac  Allerton,  who  by  his  character  and  standing  was 
well  fitted  for  the  chief  magistracy,  had  left  the  colony. 
The  excellent  Samuel  Fuller,  their  first  physician,  with 
twenty-three  more  of  the  forty-one  who  signed  the 
Compact  of  1620,  had  fallen  before  the  pestilence;  and  of 
those  who  remained,  Stephen  Hopkins,  Miles  Stan- 
dish,  and  John  Alden,  were  the  most  prominent 
individuals.     Hopkins  was   then  one  of    the   principal 

*  See  Hilton's  Letter,  in  Smith's  "New  England's  Trials,"  No.  2,  Vol.  II, 
Force's  Collection  of  Tracts. 


THOMAS    PRENCE.  14  F 

magistrates;  and  Alden  seems,  like  him,  to  have  been 
content  with  the  burthens  of  the  same  office,  which  he 
shared  for  more  than  forty  years,  outliving  all  the  other 
signers  of  the  compact.  Captain  Standish,  the  hero  of 
the  settlement,  was  beginning  to  feel  the  infirmities  of  age, 
and  possessed  a  temper  too  natural  to  his  profession  to 
fit  him  for  the  duties  of  the  chief  magistracy. 

The  Fortune  had  brought  a  new  accession  of  esti- 
mable men  to  the  colony,  who  were  received  with  wel- 
come, and  the  standing  and  qualifications  of  Mr.  Prence, 
caused  him  to  be  selected  from  among  their  number,  as 
the  successor  of  Governor  Winslow,  in  1634. 

Previous  to  this  time,  settlements  had  been  formed 
at  Duxbury,  to  which  the  families  of  Alden,  Standish, 
and  Collier,  had  removed;  and  before  the  year  1635, 
Mr.  Prence  appears  to  have  removed  to  the  same  place. 
The  regulation  existing  at  this  time  required  that  the 
Governor  should  reside  in  Plymouth,  and  the  people, 
when  the  next  election  took  place,  returned  to  their  old 
favorite,  Governor  Bradford.  Mr.  Prence  was  however 
at  the  same  time  chosen  assistant,  and  served  as  such 
during  twenty  years,  when  not  filling  other  and  more  im- 
portant offices. 

The  colony  of  New  Plymouth  at  this  time  possessed 
trading  establishments  upon  the  Connecticut  and  Kenne- 
beck,  which  were  sources  of  profit,  but  they  not  unfre- 
quently  caused  embarrassment  and  collision.  A  short 
time  after  Governor  Prence  entered  upon  his  office,  he 
was  annoyed  by  intelligence  of  violent  proceedings  at 
both  these  points.  A  man  of  the  name  of  Stone,  a  West 
Indian  of  St.  Christopher's,  by  intoxicating  the  Gover- 
nor of  the  Dutch  fort  on  Connecticut  river,  obtained  his 


142  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

leave  to  take  a  Plymouth  bark,  which  was  lying  there 
at  anchor.  The  master  and  most  of  the  men  being  on 
shore,  he  succeeded,  and  after  weighing  her  anchor  set 
sail  for  Virginia,  but  some  Dutch  sailors,  who  had  received 
kind  treatment  at  Plymouth,  discovering  his  design, 
pursued  him  with  two  vessels,  and  soon  after  recaptured 
the  bark. 

Stone  afterwards  going  to  Massachusetts,  was  served 
with  a  process,  and  for  the  purpose  of  a  compromise,  he 
went  to  Plymouth.  In  a  dispute  with  the  governor,  he 
was  so  transported  with  rage  that  he  attempted  to  stab 
him,  but  was  prevented  by  the  vigilance  of  the  gov- 
ernor's attendants. 

An  act  of  violence  was  also  perpetrated  at  Kennebeck, 
within  the  limits  of  the  Plymouth  patent.  A  pinnace 
belonging  to  Lord  Say  and  Sele,  and  commanded  by 
one  Hocking,  sailed  from  Pascataqua  into  the  Kennebeck, 
and  he  attempted  to  pass  up  the  river  for  the  purpose  of 
trading  with  the  natives.  Two  of  the  magistrates  of  Ply- 
mouth being  there,  forbade  him ;  he  persisted,  and 
declaring  that  "  he  would  go  up  and  trade  with  the 
natives  in  despite  of  them,  and  lye  there  as  long  as  he 
pleased,"  went  on. 

The  Plymouth  men  pursued  him  in  a  boat,  and  after 
entreating  him  to  depart,  and  receiving  nothing  but "  ill 
words "  and  positive  refusals,  finding  his  pinnace  at 
anchor,  two  of  them  went  in  a  canoe,  cut  one  of  the  ca- 
bles, and  attempted  to  cut  the  other;  Hocking  threatened 
to  shoot  them;  they  defied  him,  and  persisted;  he  fired, 
and  killed  one.  The  pinnace  having  come  up,  with  five 
or  six  men  on  board,  they  fired  on  Hocking  and  killed 
him. 


THOMAS    PREJVCE.  143 

At  the  general  court  at  Boston,  (May  15,  1634,)  up- 
on complaint  of  a  kinsman  of  Hocking,  John  Alden, 
one  of  the  Plymouth  magistrates,  who  was  present  at  this 
transaction,  but  at  that  time  in  Boston,  was  arrested  an  d 
held  to  bail,  "and  withal  (says  Governor  Winthrop) 
we  wrote  to  Plymouth  to  certify  them  what  we  had  done, 
and  to  know  whether  they  would  do  justice  in  the  cause, 
(as  belonging  to  their  jurisdiction,)  and  to  have  a  speedy 
answer,"  &c. 

This  was  a  high  handed  transaction  on  the  part  of 
the  authorities  of  Massachusetts,  and  naturally  caused 
much  excitement  among  the  people  of  Plymouth.  Gov- 
ernors Bradford  and  Winslow,  Mr.  Collier,  and  the  pastor 
of  the  church,  were  obliged  to  go  to  Boston  and  hold 
conferences  with  the  authorities  there,  before  the  diffi- 
culty could  be  adjusted.  Governors  Winthrop  and 
Dudley  appear  to  have  interested  themselves  in  the 
exculpation  of  Plymouth,  and  the  indignity  offered 
to  this  colony  by  the  illegal  arrest  of  one  of  her 
magistrates,  was  overlooked,  and  soon  forgotten.  The 
power  of  the  younger  colony,  which  was  destined  ulti- 
mately to  swallow  up  the  older,  was  already  beginning 
to  be  felt. 

Prior  to  the  year  1634,  although  the  governor  and 
assistants  were  the  only  magistrates  in  the  colony,  it  does 
not  appear  that  they  possessed  the  power  of  a  judicial 
court.  They  had  no  jurisdiction  in  civil  actions,  and  in 
criminal  offences,  they  could  only  *  bind  over' the  accused 
to  appear  at  the  general  court.  In  1633,  a  few  laws, 
such  only  as  appeared  to  be  of  the  most  urgent  necessity, 
were  established.  But  as  the  settlements  expanded,  it 
soon  became  obvious,  that  a  code  of  laws  must  be  adopt- 


144  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

ed;  and  the  year  1636,  may  be  considered  the  date  of 
the  establishment  of  a  body  of  organic  laws  in  New 
Plymouth. 

On  the  15th  of  November,  at  a  court  of  Associates, 
the  following  declaration  was  ordered : 

"  We,  the  associates  of  New  Plymouth,  coming  hither 
as  free-born  subjects  of  the  State  of  England,  and  en- 
dowed with  all  and  singular  the  privileges  belonging  to 
such,  being  assembled,  do  ordain  that  no  act,  imposition, 
law,  or  ordinance,  be  made  or  imposed  upon  us,  at  the 
present,  or  to  come,  but  such  as  shall  be  made  and  im- 
posed by  consent  of  the  body  of  the  associates,  or  their 
representatives  legally  assembled,  which  is  according  to 
the  liberties  of  the  state  of  England." 

Whether  the  laws  of  England  which  preceded  this 
order  were  renounced,  is  equivocal ;  but  the  authority  of 
English  laws,  "  at  present,  or  to  come,"  was  by  this  de- 
claration renounced  by  the  whole  body  of  the  associates, 
and  Parliament  was  denied  the  right  of  legislating  for 
New  Plymouth.  This  order,  (says  Baylies,)  is  the  first 
American  Declaration  of  Rights,  if  not  of  Independence, 
and  the  laws  which  followed,  became  necessary  for  the 
protection  of  the  people  and  the  preservation  of  the  gov- 
ernment.* 

The  time  of  the  annual  election  was  fixed  for  the 
first  Tuesday  of  June,  when  a  governor  and  seven  as- 
sistants should  be  chosen,  "  to  rule  and  govern  the  plan- 
tation within  the  limits  of  this  corporation,"  and  the 
election  was  confined  to  those  who  had  been  admitted  as 
freemen.  The  qualifications  required  to  constitute  a 
freeman,  were,  to  be  twenty-one  years  of  age,  of  sober 

*  Baylies'  Hist.  New  Plymouth,  i.  229- 


THOMAS    PRENCE.  145 

and  peaceable  conversation,  orthodox  in  the  fundamen- 
tals of  religion,,  and  to  possess  a  rateable  estate  of  the 
value  of  twenty  pounds.  All  these  were  pre-requisites, 
before  any  person  could  be  admitted  to  the  oath  pre- 
scribed to  be  taken  by  freemen. 

The  duties  and  powers  of  the  governor,  were  de- 
fined by  law ;  but  the  office  seems  to  have  given  to  the 
incumbent  little  more  than  the  privilege  of  acting  as 
chairman  of  the  court  of  assistants,  or  of  the  general 
court — the  honorary  station  of  being  the  official  head 
of  political  society.  He  was  destitute  of  the  power  of 
appointing  any  of  the  officers  of  the  government,  or  even 
of  nominating  them;  and  of  course  he  had  no  patronage, 
or  any  mode  of  securing  influence,  excepting  what  arose 
from  the  weight  of  his  personal  character.  He  could 
call  the  assistants  together,  for  the  purpose  of  advising 
with  them  in  council,  and  in  voting  his  voice  was 
double;  but  the  assistants  could  refer  all  matters  to 
the  general  court,  which  the  governor  was  obliged  to 
summon  if  they  required  it,  and  his  duty  in  that  court 
was  confined  to  the  statement  of  the  questions  upon 
which  they  were  to  act.  The  power  of  arrest  was  giv- 
en to  him,  but  no  further  than  to  restrain  the  offender, 
until  his  offence  could  be  investigated,  either  by  the 
court  of  assistants,  or  the  general  court.  The  power 
of  examining  suspicious  persons,  and  of  intercepting 
letters,  was  given,  probably  in  consequence  of  the 
memorable  attempt  of  Lyford  and  others  to  subvert  the 
government  of  the  colony  in  1624.*  It  can  scarcely  be 
conceived,  at  this  day,  how  a  government  could  be  ad- 
ministered with  such  limited  authority  in  the  executive. 

*  See  page  85,  of  this  volume. 

19 


146  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

The  personal  influence  of  the  governor  must  have  sup- 
plied the  want  of  legal  power. 

The  want  of  power  in  the  governor,  was  not  sup- 
plied by  the  greater  powers  of  the  assistants.  They 
were  to  advise  the  governor,  and  were  restrained  from 
c  betraying  council.'  They  presided  in  the  examina- 
tion of  offenders  in  public  court,  '  and  had  a  voice  in 
censuring.'  One  of  them,  by  the  consent  of  the  others, 
on  the  nomination  of  the  governor,  could  discharge  the 
executive  duties  in  his  absence,  and  their  power  of  arrest 
was  similar  to  that  of  the  governor. 

Within  this  narrow  circle  was  confined  the  authority 
of  the  assistants.  In  a  factious  society,  this  power  would 
have  been  constantly  defied  and  contemned ;  but  the  col- 
onists were  a  sober,  moral,  and  religious,  in  fact,  a  well 
regulated  family,  loving  and  obeying  their  magistrates, 
with  an  affection  and  reverence  like  that  which  children 
render  to  their  parents ;  and  the  influence  of  the  clergy 
was  a  powerful  support  to  this  paternal  government, 
which  depended  so  little  on  physical  strength,  and  so 
much  on  the  moral  force  of  opinion.* 

Prior  to  the  year  1636,  there  appears  to  have  been 
no  secretary  to  the  colony,  and  the  records  were  kept 
by  the  governor.  The  code  adopted  at  that  period 
was  preceded  by  the  declaration,  before  referred  to,f 
styled  "  General  Fundamentals"  in  the  records.  A  certi- 
ficate signed  in  Dec.  1775,  by  John  Cotton,  the  recorder 
at  Plymouth,  referring  to  this  declaration,  says —  "  The 
above  act  stands  in  front  of  three  manuscript  law  books,  in 
1636,  1658,  and  1660,  and  of  two  printed  ones,  in  1671 

*  See  Baylies,  i.  229—235. 

t  See  pages  76  and  118,  oi  this  volume. 


THOMAS    PRENCE.  147 

and  1685.  In  the  year  1636,  Plymouth  colony  first 
formed  or  perfected  their  body  or  code  of  laws,  they 
being,  before  governed  by  transient  regulations  or  oc- 
casional laws."*  To  the  manuscript  book  of  1636,  other 
laws  were  added  from  time  to  time ;  and  when  any  of 
the  former  were  altered  or  repealed,  this  was  done  by 
the  simple  process  of  making  interlineations  or  erasures, 
instead  of  passing  additional  acts !  In  1658,  the  laws 
were  revised,  and  entered  in  another  book,  and  they  were 
published,  not  by  printing,  but  by  the  preparation  of 
copies  in  manuscript  by  the  secretary,  equal  in  number 
to  the  number  of  towns  in  the  colony.  Into  this  book 
the  laws  passed  afterwards  were  copied,  until  1664, 
when  there  appears  to  have  been  another  revision,  and 
a  third  book  of  laws  was  made,  similar  to  the  former. 
This  contains  all  the  laws  passed  from  that  time  till  1682. 
The  laws,  which  thus  existed  in  three  separate  manu- 
script volumes,  have  been  bound  in  one,  and  are  preserv- 
ed. When  the  first  printed  edition  was  ordered  in 
1671,  another  revision  was  made,  but  the  manuscript  of 
this  no  longer  exists. f 

In  1637,  Governor  Prence  was  particularly  active  in 
raising  a  corps  of  volunteers  to  assist  Connecticut  and 
Massachusetts  in  the  expedition  against  the  Pequot  In- 
dians, which  resulted  in  the  utter  overthrow  and  exter- 
mination of  that  tribe.  The  names  of  thirty-nine  men, 
who  offered  to  go  on  that  service,  are  on  record,  and  the 
document  has  the  following  caption  :  "  The  names  of 
the  soldiers  that  willingly  offer  to  go  upon  the  service 

*  Baldwin's  sermon  at  Plymouth,  Dec.  22,  1775.     Hazard's  Coll.  of  Pam- 
phlets, in  Force's  Library,  Washington,  D.  C. 

t  III  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  ii.  265. 


148  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

with  Mr.  Prence  and  the  Lieutenant,  voluntaries."*  The 
Pequots  were  a  warlike  tribe,  not  inferior  in  courage  to 
any  in  the  New  World.  They  inhabited  the  territory 
now  occupied  by  the  towns  of  New-London,  Groton  and 
Stonington,  in  Connecticut.  Foreseeing  the  ultiinate 
extinction  of  their  race,  from  the  advance  of  the  English, 
this  tribe,  heretofore  hostile  to  the  Narragansetts,  now 
proposed  to  join  them  in  an  effort  to  exterminate  the 
whites.  Fortunately  for  the  colonists,  the  Narragansetts 
refused  the  alliance,  and  the  Pequots,  more  exasperated 
than  discouraged  by  their  refusal,  commenced  hostilities 
alone.  They  surprised  stragglers,  and  scalped  them,  and 
plundered  and  burnt  the  neighboring  settlements — until 
the  infant  colonies,  particularly  Connecticut  and  Massa- 
chusetts, by  a  vigorous  effort,  succeeded  in  overpowering 
and  destroying  the  tribe.  The  troops  raised  in  Plymouth, 
fifty-six  in  number,  were  placed  under  the  immediate 
command  of  Capt.  Standish,  but  the  war  was  over  before 
they  reached  the  scene  of  action.  The  Pequot  nation 
had  ceased  to  exist. 

In  1638,  Mr.  Prence  was  again  elected  to  the  office 
of  governor.  It  appears  that  he  accepted  the  office  with 
considerable  reluctance,  and  made  it  a  condition  that  he 
should  not  be  compelled  to  remove  from  Duxbury.  Dur- 
ing his  administration,  in  that  year,  a  severe  and  exem- 

*  By  "  the  Lieutenant,"  William  Holmes  is  intended,  afterwards  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  major,  who  became  a  freeman  of  the  colony  in  1633,  and  was 
appointed  in  1635,  with  Capt.  Standish,  to  teach  the  Train  bands  of  Plymouth 
and  Duxbury.  Major  Holmes  lived  at  Scituate,  and  died  in  1649,  without  a 
family.  He  was  the  leader  of  the  Plymouth  party,  who,  in  defiance  of  the 
Dutch  authorities  of  New  Amsterdam,  took  possession  of  the  territory  on  Con- 
necticut river,  and  erected  the  first  house  in  Connecticut,  at  Windsor,  in  Octo- 
ber, 1633.  See  page  113,  of  this  volume;  compare  also  Holmes,  i.  228,  and 
Trumbull,  i.  35. 


THOMAS    PRENCE.  149 

plary  act  of  justice  was  exhibited,  in  the  condemnation 
of  three  colonists,  for  robbing  and  mortally  wounding  an 
Indian. 

It  appears  that  four  young  men  of  Plymouth,  who 
were  servants,  absconding  from  their  masters,  attacked  a 
solitary  Indian  at  Pawtucket,  near  Providence,  but  with- 
in the  limits  of  New  Plymouth,  and  after  inflicting  upon 
him  a  mortal  wound,  robbed  him  of  a  quantity  of  wam- 
pum, and  fled  to  Providence.     Complaint  was  made  to 
Roger  Williams,  by  the  Indians,  who  were  greatly  alarm- 
ed, and  he  called  upon  the  authorities  to  have  "  justice 
done."     Roger  Williams  was  particularly  anxious  that 
the  natives  should  behold  in  the  prompt  and  signal  pun- 
ishment of  these  offenders,  an  example  of  the  justice  of 
the  English,  and  Gov.  Winthrop  of  Massachusetts,  whose 
advice  had  been  solicited,  considered  it  a  matter  in  which 
the  whole  country  was  interested.     Governor  Prence 
and  the  authorities  of  New  Plymouth  promptly  institut- 
ed  the  necessary  investigation.     One  of  the  criminals 
fled  to  Pascataqua,  where  he  was  protected,  and  finally 
escaped  out  of  the  country.     The  others  were  tried,  con- 
demned, and  executed,  in  presence  of  many  of  the  natives, 
who  had  assembled  at  New  Plymouth.     This  execution 
has  been  cited  as  an  undeniable  proof  of  the  stern  sense 
of  duty- which  was  cherished  by  the  Pilgrims.     To  put 
three  Englishmen  to  death  for  the  murder  of  an  Indian, 
without  compulsion,  or  without  any  apprehension  of  con- 
sequences, (for  it  does  not  appear  that  any  application 
was  made  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  for  the  punishment 
of  the  murderers,)  denotes  a  rigor  in  the  administration 
of  justice,  unusual  in  new  settlements,  especially  in  con- 
troversies with  the  natives.     It  stands  in  our  annals  with- 


150  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

out  a  parallel  instance ;  the  truth  of  the  fact  is  vouched 
by  all  our  early  historians,  and  it  was  probably  not  with- 
out its  reward;  for  the  Indians,  convinced  of  the  justice 
of -the  English,  abstained  from  all  attempts  to  avenge 
their  personal  wrongs,  by  their  own  acts;  for  many 
years. 

In  1643,  we  find  Mr.  Prence  actively  engaged  in  pro- 
moting a  new  settlement  at  Nauset,  or  Eastham.  Eight 
towns  had  been  settled  within  the  limits  of  the  colony 
during  the  first  twenty  years,  but  Nauset,  now  thought  to 
be  a  very  favorable  spot,  had  been  overlooked.  The 
people  of  Plymouth  became  alarmed  at  these  frequent 
removals  from  among  them.  Many  persons  had  already 
left  the  town,  and  now,  when  others  of  the  most  respecta- 
ble among  them  desired  to  remove,  it  became  a  serious 
question  with  the  church,  whether  it  were  not  better 
for  the  whole  body  to  remove  at  once  to  another  place, 
than  thus  to  be  weakened  and  insensibly  dissolved.  Meet- 
ing after  meeting  was  held,  and,  after  much  controversy, 
it  was  finally  agreed  by  the  whole  body  that  they  would 
remove  together,  on  condition  that  they  could  find  a 
place  sufficient  for  their  accommodation. 

A  committee,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Mr.  Prence, 
was  now  sent  to  Nauset,  to  make  examination.  Their 
report  was  against  the  feasibility  of  removing  to  that  place. 
They  purchased,  however,  the  contiguous  lands,  belong- 
ing to  the  natives ;  and  the  Plymouth  people  finally  gave 
up  the  project  of  removing  the  seat  of  government,  and 
consented  that  those  who  desired  to  begin  a  plantation 
at  Nauset,  should  be  permitted  to  do  so.  Mr.  Prence 
and  his  associates  now  obtained  a  grant  of  lands  at  Nau- 
set, and  went  resolutely  forward  with  their  new  planta- 


THOMAS    PRENCE.  151 

tion.  These  persons  were  among  the  most  respectable 
inhabitants  of  Plymouth.  The  church  regretted  their 
departure,  viewing  herself  as  a  mother  grown  old  and  for- 
saken by  her  children,  if  not  in  their  affections,  yet  in 
their  company  and  personal  assistance.*  But  however 
the  emigration  might  have  been  lamented  at  that  time,  it 
was  productive  of  good  to  the  colony  ;  and  eventually  led 
to  the  settlement  of  all  the  lower  part  of  the  county  of 
Barnstable ;  in  consequence  of  which  the  Indians  there, 
who  from  their  numbers  were  a  formidable  body,  were 
overawed  and  their  good  will  obtained,  and  they  were 
prevented  from  joining  in  hostilities  against  the  Eng- 
lish, in  the  wars  which  afterward  occurred. 

In  1654,  Mr.  Prence,  then  one  of  the  board  of  assist- 
ants, went  to  the  settlement  which  had  been  formed  on 
theKennebeck  patent,  and,  under  authority  of  parliament,, 
pursuant  to  directions  of  the  court  at  New  Plymouth, 
organized  a  government,  Thomas  Southworth,  son-in- 
law  of  Governor  Bradford,  being  appointed  agent  or 
governor.  He  summoned  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants 
at  Merry-Meeting  Bay,  and  some  sixteen  persons  attend- 
ed and  subscribed  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  government 
of  New  Plymouth. f  Seven  years  afterwards,  the  colony 
disposed  of  this  patent  to  a  private  company  for  four  hun- 
dred pounds  sterling. | 

*  "  And  thus  was  this  poor  Church  left  like  an  ancient  mother,  grown 
old  and  forsaken  of  her  children,  though  not  in  their  affections,  yet  in  regard 
of  their  bodily  presence  and  personal  helpfulness,  her  ancient  members  being 
most  of  them  worn  away  by  death,  and  those  of  latter  times  being  like  children 
translated  into  other  families,  and  she  like  a  widow  left  alone  to  trust  in  God. 
Thus  she  that  had  made  many  rich  became  herself  poor." — Plymouth  Churcfei 
Records,  i.  45. 

t  Hazard's  Coll.  i.  583—586. 

t  See  p.  133,  of  this  volumtv 


152  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

On  the  death  of  Governor  Bradford,  in  1657,  Mr, 
Prence  was  chosen  his  successor.  There  seemed  to  be 
an  obvious  propriety  in  this  selection.  Mr.  Prence  had 
held  that  office  as  early  as  1634,  and  once  afterwards, 
and  had  been  constantly  in  public  employment.  No  one 
stood  before  him  in  the  public  estimation,  excepting  per- 
haps, Bradford  and  Edward  Winslow,  and  with  them  he 
certainly  appears  to  have  shared  the  confidence  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  the  highest  offices  of  the  government.  As  both 
these  respectable  men  were  now  deceased,  there  could 
have  been  but  little  hesitation  in  giving  him  the  station 
of  which  he  was  not  deemed  unworthy,  when  they  were 
living.  He  was  accordingly  annually  chosen  to  the 
chief  magistracy,  from  this  time  forward,  for  sixteen 
years,  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1673. 

The  law,  as  has  already  been  stated,  required  the  gov- 
ernor to  reside  at  Plymouth ;  but  there  was  a  special  dis- 
pensation made  in  favor  of  Governor  Prence  until  the 
year  1665.  In  October  of  that  year,  "the  country  saw 
reason  to  desire  and  request  his  removal  into  the  town, 
for  the  more  convenient  administration  of  justice."  Gov. 
Prence  now  removed  to  Plymouth,  and  took  possession 
of  a  place,  provided  for  him  by  the  government,  which 
he  occupied  until  his  death.  It  was  nearly  two  miles 
from  the  centre  of  the  town,  on  the  road  leading  towards 
Boston — and  was  called  Plain- Dealing,  the  former  resi- 
dence of  John  Winslow,  and  afterwards  of  Edward  Gray, 
of  whom  it  had  been  purchased  by  the  colony.  The 
governor's  salary  was  at  the  same  time  established  at 
fifty  pounds  per  annum,  and  it  was  stipulated  that  he 
should  receive  that  sum  annually  as  long  as  he  continued 
to  be  governor  of  the  colony. 


THOMAS    PRENCE.  153 

Governor  Prence  was  not  altogether  happy  in  his 
administration  of  the  government.  The  severe  proceed- 
ings against  sectaries,  especially  against  the  Quakers, 
which  were  favored  by  him,  and  in  which  his  conduct 
was  intolerant,  and  in  some  instances  overbearing,  creat- 
ed dissatisfaction  even  amongst  those  who  were  hostile 
to  the  introduction  of  new  sects.  Governor  Prence 
himself,  in  temper  and  spirit,  more  closely  resembled 
the  stern  puritans  who  settled  upon  the  Bay  of  Massa- 
chusetts, than  his  predecessors  in  the  government  of 
Plymouth.  He  saw  with  dread  and  misgiving  the  in- 
creasing indifference  of  the  people  to  the  support  of  the 
clergy.  He  knew  that  before  the  death  of  Governor 
Bradford,  that  venerable  man  had  spoken  of  it  with 
apprehension.  He  had  endeavored,  with  Winslow, 
ten  years  before,  to  check  the  growing  influence  of  the 
new  sects  among  the  deputies,  and  the  people.  Men 
began  to  doubt  the  benefit  of  stated  preaching,  and  chose 
to  exercise  their  own  spiritual  gifts ;  and  so  inadequate 
was  the  support  given  to  the  clergy,  that  many  left  the 
colony.  Gorton's  extravagances  had  excited  disgust; 
and  now  when  the  Quakers,  whose  tenets  and  practices 
bore  some  resemblance  to  his,  began  to  appear,  a  large 
majority  of  the  people  were  ready  to  adopt  the  severe 
policy  pursued  in  Massachusetts,  which  was  now  advo- 
cated by  Governor  Prence. 

There  were  still  influential  men  in  the  colony  who 
were  open  friends  of  toleration,  and  had  the  nerve  to  op- 
pose the  popular  current.  James  Cudworth  and  Thomas 
Hatherly,  two  of  the  assistants,  whose  views  were  in 
advance  of  the  age,  objected  to  the  persecution  of  the 
Quakers.  They  were  at  once  proscribed  and  omitted 
20 


154  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

from  the  magistracy;  and  in  1659,  when  the  people  of 
Scituate  returned  General  Cudworth  as  a  deputy  to  the 
general  court,  such  was  the  bigotry  of  the  majority,  that 
they  unceremoniously  denied  him  a  seat.* 

In  a  letter,  written  in  1658,  General  Cudworth  thus 
describes  the  state  of  public  feeling  at  that  time  exist- 
ing in  the  colony:  "The  state  and  condition  of  things 
amongst  us  is  sad,  and  so  like  to  continue.  The  anti- 
christian,  persecuting  spirit  is  very  active,  and  that  in 
the  powers  of  this  world.  He  that  will  not  lash,  punish 
and  persecute  men  that  differ  in  matters  of  religion, 
must  not  sit  on  the  bench,  nor  sustain  any  office  in  the 
commonwealth.  Last  election,  Mr.  Hatherly  and  my- 
self were  left  off  the  bench,  and  myself  discharged  of  my 
Captainship,  because  I  had  entertained  some  of  the 
Quakers  at  my  house,  thereby  that  I  might  be  better 
*  acquainted  with  their  principles.     I  thought  it  better  to 

*  Gen.  Cudworth,  who  was  one  of  the  most  estimable  men  in  the  colony, 
came  from  England  in  1632,  settled  at  Scituate,  where  he  was  chosen  a  deputy 
in  1649,  and  for  several  succeeding  years.  In  1656,  he  was  chosen  assistant,  in 
which  office  he  continued  until  displaced  as  above  stated.  On  the  election  of 
Governor  Josiah  Winslow,  in  1673,  he  endeavored  and  with  success,  to  make 
honorable  amends  for  the  abuse  and  neglect  which  Cudworth  had  suffered  from 
his  predecessor,  Gov.  Prence.  In  the  colony  records,  July  1673,  is  an  entry,  that 
11  Capt.  Cudworth,  by  a  full  and  clear  vote,  is  accepted  and  re-established,  in  the 
association  and  body  of  this  Commonwealth."  He  was  chosen  an  assistant 
again  from  1674,  to  1680,  inclusively.  In  1675,  he  was  chosen  "  General  and 
Commander  in  Chief  of  all  the  forces  that  are  or  may  be  sent  forth  against 
the  enemy,"  and  he  continued  in  that  place  until  Philip's  war  was  ended. 
In  1681,  he  was  appointed  an  agent  for  the  colony  to  England.  He  was  also 
Deputy  Governor  the  same  year.  On  his  arrival  in  London  in  the  autumn  of 
1682,  he  unfortunately  took  the  small  pox,  of  which  he  died. 

Mr.  Hatherly  was  originally  from  Devonshire,  afterwards  a  merchant  of 
London,  and  came  to  Plymouth  in  the  ship  Anne  in  1623.  He  became  a  great 
landholder,  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Scituate,  and  was  among  the  most  enter- 
prising men  of  the  Colony.  He  was  an  assistant  thirteen  years,  treasurer  of 
the  colony,  and  one  of  the  commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies.  He  died  in 
1666,  without  issue. 


THOMAS    PRENCE.  155 

do  so,  than  with  the  bfind  world  to  censure,  condemn, 
rail  at,  and  revile  them,  when  they  neither  saw  their 
persons,  nor  knew  any  of  their  principles.  But  the  Qua- 
kers and  myself  cannot  close,  in  divers  things,  and  so 
I  signified  to  the  Court;  but  told  them  withal,  that  as  I 
was  no  Quaker,  so  I  would  be  no  persecutor." 

The  Quakers,  who  had  endured  persecution  in  Eng- 
land, appeared  in  this  country  in  1656,  and  immediately 
attracted  the  notice  of  the  authorities.  The  leaders  of 
the  sect  in  New  Plymouth  were  Humphrey  Norton  and 
John  Rouse.  They  were  turbulent  men,  violent  in  all 
their  proceedings,  and  in  a  very  short  time  provoked  a 
persecution,  which  might  not  have  followed,  had  their 
conduct  been  as  wise  and  discreet  as  that  of  Penn  and  his 
followers  in  Pennsylvania.  Severe  laws  were  enacted 
against  them,  and  enforced  with  the  rigor  characteristic 
of  the  times. 

In  October,  1657,  Norton  was  summoned  before  the 
court  of  magistrates,  and  being  convicted  of  "divers 
horrid  errors,"  was  ordered  to  depart  from  the  jurisdic- 
tion, and  he  was  conducted  by  a  marshal  to  the  boundary 
of  Rhode  Island.  But  the  spirit  of  these  enthusiasts 
was  not  thus  to  be  subdued.  Norton  returned  not  long 
afterwards,  and  was  imprisoned.  When  arraigned  before 
the  governor,  and  charged  with  his  offences  against  the 
laws,  he  said  to  the  governor,  "Thomas,  thou  liest! 
thou  art  a  malicious  man  !"  His  companion  Rouse  being 
equally  turbulent,  they  were  both  sentenced  to  be  whip- 
ped. The  punishment  was  inflicted,  when,  after  another 
short  imprisonment,  they  left  the  colony.  Others  of 
the  sect  were  banished,  but  no  one  suffered  death,  as  in 
the  neighboring  colony  of  Massachusetts. 


156  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

Norton  had  offered  a  written  paper  to  the  governor, 
which  he  refused  to  receive.  Smarting  under  a  sense 
of  the  severity  and  cruelty  with  which  he  had  been 
treated,  he  addressed  letters  to  Governor  Prence  and  to 
Mr.  Alden,  who  was  one  of  the  assistants,  in  which  he 
vented  his  resentment,  in  strains  approaching  to  elo- 
quence, and  claimed  to  be  a  prophet,  a  delusion  which  he 
probably  cherished  in  all  sincerity.  A  portion  of  the 
letter  to  the  governor,  here  follows  : 

"  Thomas  Prence,  thou  who  hast  bent  thy  heart  to 
work  wickedness,  and  with  thy  tongue  hast  set  forth 
deceit;  thou  imaginest  mischief  upon  thy  bed,  and 
hatchest  thy  hatred  in  thy  secret  chamber ;  the  strength 
of  darkness  is  over  thee,  and  a  malicious  mouth  hast 
thou  opened  against  God  and  his  anointed,  and  with  thy 
tongue  and  lips  hast  thou  uttered  perverse  things ;  thou 
hast  slandered  the  innocent  by  railing,  lying,  and  false 
accusations,  and  with  thv  barbarous  heart  hast  thou  caused 
their  blood  to  be  shed.  Thou  hast  through  these  things 
broken  and  transgressed  the  laws  and  ways  of  God,  and 
equity  is  not  before  thy  eyes ;  the  curse  causeless  can- 
not come  upon  thee,  nor  the  vengeance  of  God  unjustly 
cannot  fetch  thee  up ;  thou  makest  thyself  merry  with 
thy  secret  malice,  and  when  thou  actest  or  executest  it, 
it  is  in  derision  and  scorn.  The  deadly  drink  of  the 
cup  of  indignation  thou  cannot  escape,  and  the  grief  and 
cause  of  travail  will  not  be  greater  than  thine.  Since 
first  I  saw  thee,  and  before,  thy  false  and  lying  tongue 
hath  been  forged  against  me.  I  shall  not  write  nor  speak 
this  without  ground,  as  thou  hast  done  by  me,  but 
plainly  shall  present  thy  doings  before  thy  face ;  as  firstly, 
thy  former  warrant  was  forged  upon  a  filthy  lie,  and 


THOMAS    PRENCE.  157 

therein  thou  titlest  me  an  extravagant  person;  thy  sec- 
ond had  helping  hand  in  causing  me  to  be  recorded  for 
several  errors,  and  like  a  shameless  man  would  neither 
acknowledge  nor  deny  ;  thy  third,  that  John  Rouse  and  I 
were  inordinate  fellows,  and  never  in  the  least  made  it  ap- 
pear wherein  ;  thy  fourth  that  I  intended  within  two  days 
after  the  time  thou  spake  it,  to  make  a  preachment,  as 
thou  in  thy  derision  called  it  thereaways ;  thy  fifth,  thy 
promise  that  I  should  have  the  law,  and  afterwards  went 
about  to  deny  it,  so  as  from  thee  I  never  had  it  yet ;  thy 
sixth,  popish  and  Jesuitical  names,  withal  thy  lying  slan- 
ders and  false  aspersions  cast  upon  us  from  thy  clamor- 
ous tongue ;  thy  seventh,  acting  contrary  to  law,  equity 
and  justice,  and  judgment,  according  to  the  evil  of  thine 
own  heart, — all  these  art  thou  guilty  of,  besides  the  de- 
nying of  my  paper,  which  was  presented  to  thee,  contain- 
ing part  of  my  grounds  of  my  coming ;  thy  eighth,  thy 
striving  to  dash  my  words  back  upon  me,  and  to  hinder 
me  to  speak  in  the  people's  hearing,  striving  what  thou 
could  to  stain  the  truth  of  God  with  thy  envious  tongue,  all 
which  things  are  charged  upon  thy  head,  and  as  a  peal  of 
hail  stones  will  pelt  upon  thy  heart;  thou  hast  perverted 
justice  and  true  judgment,  and  hast  defrauded  the  poor 
and  needy  ;  thou  hast  caused  to  defraud  the  righteous 
owner  of  his  goods,  and  art  heaping  it  up  as  upon  a  hill, 
wherewith  thou  wilt  purchase  to  thyself  and  others  a 
field  of  blood,  wherein  to  bury  your  dead.  John  Alden 
is  to  thee  like  unto  a  packhorse,  whereupon  thou  layest 
thy  beastly  bag ;  cursed  are  all  they  that  have  a  hand 
therein  ;  the  cry  of  vengeance  will  pursue  thee  day  and 
night,  for  other  men's  goods,  hard  speeches,  unrighteous 
actions,  which  thou  hast  done  and  spoken  against  others 


158  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

and  us,  without  and  contrary  to  the  righteous  law;  so 
shall  rest  upon  thee  as  frontlets  upon  thy  head,  and  as 
we  have  suffered  without  law,  so  shalt  thou  perish  with- 
out law,  if  thou  repent  not.  The  days  of  thy  wailing 
will  be  like  unto  that  of  a  woman  that  murthers  the  fruit 
of  her  womb ;  the  anguish  and  pain  that  will  enter  thy 
reins  will  be  like  gnawing  worms  lodging  betwixt  thy 
heart  and  liv4er.  When  these  things  come  upon  thee, 
and  thy  back  bowed  down  with  pain,  in  that  day  and 
hour  thou  shalt  know  to  thy  grief  that  prophets  of  the 
Lord  God  we  are,  and  the  God  of  vengeance  is  our  God. 

"  Humphrey  Norton." 
Language  of  extreme  bitterness  like  this,  however  it 
may  have  been  provoked  by  persecution,  was  not  likely 
to  soften  the  hearts  of  those  in  power;  and  during 
the  year  1658,  several  disfranchising  laws  were  passed 
against  the  Quakers.  u  No  Quaker,  Ranter,  or  any  such 
corrupt  person,"  was  permitted  to  be  a  freeman  of  the 
corporation.  All  such  as  were  opposers  to  the  good  and 
wholesome  laws  of  the  colony,  or  manifest  opposers 
of  the  true  worship  of  God,  or  such  as  refused  to  do  the 
country  service,  being  called  thereunto,  on  conviction, 
were  denied  the  privileges  of  freemen.  Any  freemen 
of  the  corporation  being  Quakers,  or  such  as  were  mani- 
fest encouragers  of  them,  and  so  judged  by  the  court; 
and  such  as  spoke  contemptuously  of  the  court  and  the 
laws;  and  such  as  were  adjudged  by  the  court,  "grossly 
scandalous,  as  lyers,  drunkards,  and  swearers,"  &c.  were 
to  lose  the  freedom  of  the  corporation.  All  such  as  re- 
fused to  take  the  oath  of  fidelity,  as  Quakers,  and  their 
abettors,  were  denied  a  vote  in  the  choice  of  public  offi- 
cers, and  were  restricted  from  holding  offices  of  trust. 


THOMAS    PRENCE.  159 

The  court  also  passed  another  law,  with  this  pregnant 
preamble:  "  Whereas  sundry  persons,  both  Quakers  and 
others,  wander  up  and  down  in  this  jurisdiction,  and  fol- 
low no  lawful  calling,  to  earn  their  bread,  and  also  do 
use  all  endeavours  to  subvert  the  civil  state,  and  pull  down 
all  churches  and  ordinances  of  God,  to  thrust  us  out  of  the 
ways  of  God,  notwithstanding  all  former  laws  provided 
for  the  contrary :" 

The  court  therefore  directed,  that  a  work-house  or 
house  of  correction  should  be  erected,  "  for  the  restraint 
of  all  such  vagabonds  as  wander  up  and  down  without 
any  lawful  calling,  and  also  all  idle  persons,  or  rebellious 
children,  or  servants  that  are  stubborn  and  will  not  work, 
to  earn  their  own  bread,  and  yet  have  not  wherewith 
to  maintain  themselves,"  &c. 

Much  censure  has  been  thrown  upon  the  govern- 
ment of  Plymouth,  for  the  severity  of  these  laws,  and 
the  cruelty  of  the  punishments  which  were  inflicted  on 
the  Quakers-  They  were  severe  beyond  what  the 
necessity  of  the  case  required,  and  were  enforced  With 
rigor.  But  the  task  of  palliation,  in  this  case,  is  not 
very  difficult,  however  difficult  it  might  be  to  find 
grounds  for  a  full  justification.  The  circumstances  of 
the  times,  and  the  spirit  of  the  age,  should  be  considered 
in  pronouncing  judgment  upon  these  dark  passages  in 
the  history  of  New  Plymouth. 

The  Quakers  who  first  appeared  in  the  colony,  were 
not  inhabitants  of  the  country.  They  ^ame  from  abroad, 
originally  from  England,  but  immediately  from  Barba- 
does.  Although  they  professed  to  inculcate  the  principles 
of  peace  and  benevo.ci^e,  they  waged  a  most  furious 
war  against  a  religion,  which-  was  much  endeared  to  the 


160  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

people  whom  they  were  endeavoring  to  proselyte ;  for 
which  that  people  had  suffered  much,  and  who  were 
ready  to  suffer  much  more,  if  necessary,  to  attest  their 
strong  conviction  of  its  truth.  Their  laws,  their  govern- 
ment, their  forms  of  worship,  all  which  they  had  been 
taught  to  venerate,  and  were  accustomed  to  love,  were 
denounced  in  harsh  and  vulgar  terms,  by  utter  stran- 
gers. Their  magistrates  were  operrly  insulted,  and  their 
ministers  were  reviled,  in  language  of  insolent  abuse. 
It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  they  should  have 
attempted  to  check  what  appeared  to  them  to  be  blas- 
phemy and  impiety.  Although  these  new  expounders 
of  the  scriptures  styled  themselves  the  Prophets  of  God, 
yet  it  was  not  an  unnatural  nor  strange  result  in  that 
day,  that  they  should  have  been  regarded  by  those  among 
whom  they  came,  as  men  "  possessed  with  demons." 

It  is  very  probable,  that  the  deportment  of  Gov- 
ernor Prence  towards  Norton,  was  domineering  and 
arrogant ;  for  he  was  a  man  who  detested  schismatics 
of  every  shade,  and  had  no  particular  sympathy  for  those 
who  affected  to  despise  and  deride  all  "  human  learn- 
ing." Yet  one  far  more  indulgent  than  he  was,  placed 
in  the  same  situation,  would  have  been  himself  possessed 
of  uncommon  self-command,  if  he  could  have  tolerated 
personal  insult,  and  tamely  suffered  himself  to  be  charged 
with  falsehood  and  malice,  while  in  the  very  exercise  of 
his  high  authority  on  the  judgment  seat,  and  presiding 
in  court.  Even  in  our  own  times,  under  a  much  more 
tolerant  system,  and  with  a  mitigated  penal  code,  "  con- 
tempt of  court,"  is  deemed  a  high  offence,  and  is  pun- 
ished accordingly.  Still  it  is  better  that  the  hands  of 
power  should  fall  gently  on  all  enthusiasts  in  morals  or 


THOMAS    PREJVC£.  161 

religion,  and  on  any  who  make  pretence — even  if  it  be 
nothing  but  pretence — of  acting  under  the  strong  impulses 
of  religious  feeling.  The  Pope  of  Rome,  when  he  dis- 
missed the  too  zealous  Quaker  without  injury,  who  even 
within  the  walls  of  the  Vatican  denounced  him  as  the 
"  Man  of  Sin,"  and  as'  "  the  Antichrist,"  acted  wisely, 
by  choosing  to  consider  this  effusion  of  zeal,  as  an  out- 
pouring of  insanity ;  and,  intolerant  as  he  was  to  reli- 
gious heresy,  he  could  be  charged  with  no  want  of  in- 
dulgence to  human  infirmity. 

It  has  been  observed,  that  the  tolerant  spirit  which 
ruled  in  the  councils  of  Rhode  Island,  gave  offence  to 
the  other  colonies.  It  was,  beyond  a  doubt,  the  main 
cause  of  her  exclusion  from  the  league  of  1643.  After 
the  Quakers  had  begun  to  flee  to  that  colony,  as  a  "  city 
of  refuge,"  the  commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies 
requested  the  government  of  Rhode  Island  to  prohibit 
the  Quakers  coming  into  that  colony,  and  to  expel  those 
who  were  already  there.  Governor  Prence,  at  that  time 
a  commissioner,  joined  in  this  arrogant  request,  the  only 
commissioner  who  refused  his  assent  being  General 
Cudworth  oi  Scituate.  The  answer  of  the  government 
of  Rhode  Island,  is  in  admirable  spirit.  "As  concerning 
these  Quakers,  (say  they,)  which  are  now  among  us, 
we  have  no  law  among  us  whereby  to  punish  any  for 
only  declaring  by  words,  &c,  their  minds  and  under- 
standings concerning  the  things  and  ways  of  God,  as  to 
salvation  and  an  eternal  condition.  And  we  moreover 
find,  that  in  those  places  where  these  people  in  this 
colony  are  most  of  all  suffered  to  declare  themselves 
freely,  and  are  only  opposad  by  arguments  in  discourse, 
there  they  least  of  all  desire  to  come." 
21 


162  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

In  1658;  the  exasperation  had  increased  to  such  a 
degree,  that  the  commissioners  recommended  to  the  colo- 
nies the  punishment  of  death  against  all  of  that  "cursed 
set  of  heretics/'  who  should  be  found  in  the  country 
after  sentence  of  banishment.  A  panic  seized  the  good 
people  of  the  colony,  and  further  oppressive  laws  were 
enacted  against  the  Quakers;  but  fortunately  the  manda- 
mus of  Charles  II. ,  in  1661,  finally  put  an  end  to  their 
persecutions  in  New  England.  The  most  obnoxious 
laws  against  them  were  soon  afterwards  repealed. 

Public  prejudice  during  all  this  time  had  prevailed 
to  such  a  degree  in  New  Plymouth  as  to  exclude  from 
her  councils  some  of  the  best  citizens  in  the  colony,  who 
had  been  honest  and  bold  enough  to  encounter  it;  but 
upon  the  accession  of  the  second  Governor  Winslow, 
these  men  were  promptly  restored  to  public  trusts,  and 
regained  the  general  confidence.  The  Quakers  them- 
selves, hitherto  so  turbulent,  when  left  unmolested  by 
penal  regulations,  settled  down  into  a  quiet,  orderly  life, 
and  became  the  most  peaceful,  industrious  and  moral  of 
all  religious  sects. 

Beside  the  difficulties  already  stated,  which  Governor 
Prence  had  to  encounter,  he  also  met  with  serious  em- 
barrassments from  the  hostile  feeling,  which  was  increas- 
ing among  the  Indians.  The  demise  of  the  great  and 
good  sachem  Massasoit;  the  accession  of  his  son  Alex- 
ander, and  his  early  death,  under  circumstances  causing 
great  excitement  and  apprehension ;  the  movements  of 
the  warlike  and  resolute  Philip,  and  the  decisive  meas- 
ures, which  it  became  necessary  to  take  with  the  Squaw 
Sachem  of  Pocasset,  and  the  heads  of  other  Indian  tribes, 
more  or  less  under  the  influence  of  Philip,  required  the 


THOMAS    PRENCE.  163 

most  constant  vigilance  and  attention,  on  the  part  of  the 
government. 

After  the  death  of  Massasoit,  his  two  sons,  Wamsutta 
and  Metacomet,  appeared  before  the  court  at  Plymouth, 
and  requested  that  English  names  might  be  given  them. 
Governor  Prence  gave  to  Wamsutta  the  name  of  Alex- 
ander, and  to  Metacomet,  that  of  Philip.  In  1662,  Gov- 
ernor Prence  received  information,  by  letters,  from  Bos- 
ton, that  Alexander  was  contriving  mischief  against  the 
English,  and  that  he  had  solicited  the  Narragansetts  to 
engage  in  his  hostile  enterprises,  denominated,  by  the 
writers  of  that  period,  "  a  designated  rebellion."  Capt. 
Willett,  who  lived  near  Mount  Hope,  was  appointed  to 
confer  with  Alexander,  and  to  request  his  attendance 
at  the  next  court  at  Plymouth,  to  explain  his  proceedings. 
From  his  conversation  with  Capt.  Willett,  his  appearance 
at  court  was  expected.  He  did  not  attend,  however, 
but  still  continuing  his  intercourse  with  .the  Narragan- 
setts, the  government  of  Plymouth  directed  Major  Josiah 
Winslow,  to  bring  him  before  them  by  force.  Major 
Winslow  immediately  proceeded,  with  ten  men,  to  exe- 
cute his  instructions.  On  his  way  from  Marshfield  to 
Mount  Hope,  he  unexpectedly  found  Alexander  at  his 
hunting  house,  about  half  way  between  Plymouth  and 
Bridgewater.  He  had  with  him  a  number  of  his  men, 
(Hubbard  says,  eighty,)  well  armed.  Major  Winslow,  it 
appears,  came  upon  the  party  by  surprise,  and  having 
secured  their  arms,  which  were  without  doors,  entered 
the  wigwam,  and  communicated  his  instructions.  "The 
proud  Sachem,"  says  Dr.  I.  Mather,  "  fell  into  a  raging 
passion,  at  this  surprise,  saying  that  the  Governor  had 
no  reason  to  credit  rumors,  or  to  send  for  him  in  such  a 


164  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

way,  nor  would  he  go  to  Plymouth  but  when  he  saw 
cause."  By  the  advice  of  his  interpreter,  a  brother  of 
John  Sausaman,  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  submit.  It 
was  a  warm  summer  day,  and  the  Major  kindly  offered 
his  prisoner  the  use  of  a  horse  ;  but  his  squaw  and  sever- 
al other  Indian  women,  being  of  the  party,  who  could 
not  be  furnished  with  horses,  Alexander  politely  declin- 
ed the  offer,  observing,  that  he  could  go  on  foot  as  well 
as  they,  only  entreating  that  they  might  march  with  a 
slow  pace,  to  accommodate  the  women.  In  this  request 
he- was  indulged  ;  and  Major  Winslow  treated  his  royal 
prisoner  with  every  attention,  consistent  with  the  object 
he  was  required  to  accomplish.  It  was  necessary  to 
wait,  until  Governor  Prence  could  be  informed  of  the 
circumstances,  and  should  arrive  at  Plymouth,  from 
Eastham,  where  he  then  resided.  The  prisoner  in  the 
mean  time  was  taken  to  the  Major's  house,  at  Marshfield, 
and  was  there,  courteously  entertained.  But  the  high 
spirit  of  the  savage  king  could  not  brook  the  affront. 
"  Vexing  and  fretting  in  his  spirit,"  says  Dr.  Mather, 
"  that  such  a  check  was  given  him,  he  suddenly  fell  sick 
of  a  fever."  Every  proper  humane  attention  appears  to 
have  been  afforded  him  in  his  sickness.  He  was  nursed 
as  a  choice  friend,  and  Dr.  Fuller,  a  neighboring  physi- 
cian, prescribed  for  his  relief. 

His  disease  continuing,  the  Indians,  in  his  train,  en- 
treated that  he  might  be  dismissed ;  and  their  request  was 
finally  granted,  upon  his  engagement  to  appear  at  the 
next  court ;  but  he  soon  after  died,  Hubbard  says,  "  be- 
fore he  got  half  way  home." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  surprisal  of  Alexan- 
der, followed  as  it  was  by  his   sudden    death,  greatly 


THOMAS    PRENCE.  165 

incensed  the  Indians ;  and  an  examination  of  all  the 
facts  disclosed  in  the  case,  will  justify  the  received  opin- 
ion, that,  from  the  hour  of  Alexander's  death,  the  hearts 
of  his  warriors  were  steeled  against  the  English.  The 
account  of  the  transaction  which  we  have  here  given,  is 
almost  in  the  words  of  Mather  and  Hubbard,  who  wrote 
at  the  same  time.  It  presents  the  conduct  of  the  Ply- 
mouth authorities  in  an  unenviable  light;  for  at  the  time 
there  seems  to  have  been  no  evidence  whatever  of  the  hos- 
tile designs  attributed  to  the  successor  of  the  great  sachem 
of  the  Wampanoags,  who  had  been  so  true  a  friend  to 
the  English.  The  seizure  of  Alexander  was  therefore  an 
outrage,  that  might  well  wound  the  spirit  of  the  savage 
king,  and  animate  his  successor  with  the  purposes  of 
revenge.  Judge  Davis,  in  his  edition  of  Morton,  presents 
a  different  view  of  the  case,  and  one  which  would  go  to 
relieve  the  government  of  Plymouth  from  the  harsh 
judgment  to  which  previous  accounts  had  given  rise. 
It  is  contained  in  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  John  Cotton  of 
Plymouth,  to  Dr.  Increase  Mather,  without  date,  but 
probably  written  in  1677,  and  refers  to  the  account 
which  had  been  drawn  up  by  the  authorities  of  Ply- 
mouth, styled  "  Narrative  de  Alexandra."* 

The  letter  begins,  "  Major  Bradford  [who  was  with 
Mr.  Winslow  when  Alexander  was  surprised]  confi- 
dently assures  me,  that  in  the  Narrative  de  Jllexandro, 
there  are  many  mistakes,  and,  fearing  lest  you  should, 
through  information,  print  some  mistakes  on  that  subject, 
from  his  mouth  I  this  write.  Reports  being  here  that 
Alexander  was  plotting,  or  privy  to  plots,  against  the 
English,    authority   sent   to    him   to   come  down.     He 

*  This  Narrative,  in  manuscript,  is  in  the  library  of  the  Mass.  Hist.  Society. 


166  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

came  not.  Whereupon  Major  Winslow  was  sent  to  fetch 
him.  Major  Bradford  with  some  others,  went  with  him. 
At  Munponset  River,  a  place  not  many  miles  hence, 
they  found  Alexander  with  about  eight  men  and  sundry 
squaws.  He  was  there  about  getting  canoes.  He  and 
his  men  were  at  breakfast  under  their  shelter,  their  guns 
being  without.  They  saw  the  English  coming,  but  con- 
tinued eating;  and  Mr.  Winslow  telling  their  business, 
Alexander,  freely  and  readily,  without  the  least  hesitancy, 
consented  to  go,  giving  his  reason  why  he  came  not  to  the 
court  before,  viz :  because  he  waited  for  Capt.  Willett's 
return  from  the  Dutch,  being  desirous  to  speak  with  him 
first.*  They  brought  him  to  Mr.  Collier's  that  day,  and 
Governor  Prence  living  remote  at  Eastham,  those  few 
magistrates  who  were  at  hand  issued  the  matter  peacea- 
bly, and  immediately  dismissed  Alexander  to  return 
home,  which  he  did  part  of  the  way ;  but,  in  two  or 
three  days  after,  he  returned  and  went  to  Major  Wins- 
low's  house,  intending  thence  to  travel  into  the  bay  and 
so  home ;  but,  at  the  major's  house,  he  was  taken  very 
sick,  and  was,  by  water,  conveyed  to  Mr.  Bradford's, 
and  thence  carried  upon  the  shoulders  of  his  men  to 
Tetehquet  River,  and  thence  in  canoes  home,  and,  about 
two  or  three  days  after,  died."f 

*  Capt.  Thomas  Willett,  who  is  here  referred  to,  was  one  of  the  Leyden  Pil- 
grims ;  came  over  in  1629;  was  an  assistant  from  1651  to  1665,  when  he  re- 
moved to  New  York,  and  became  the  first  English  mayor  of  that  city.  Owning 
lands  in  the  Narragansett  country,  he  afterwards  settled  near  Mount  Hope, 
where  he  had  much  intercourse  and  influence  with  the  Indians.  He  died  at 
Barrington,  R.  I.,  4  Aug.  1674,  aged  64.  Francis  Willett,  distinguished  in 
Rhode  Island,  was  his  grandson,  and  Colonel  Marinus  Willett,  of  New  York, 
a  distinguished  officer  of  the  revolutionary  war,  and  mayor  of  the  city,  was  his 
descendant. 

t  Davis'  Morton,  Appendix  A.  A.  p.  425.  See  also  Drake's  Book  of  the 
Indians,  b   iii.  c.  1. 


THOMAS    PRENCE.  167 

After  the  death  of  Alexander,  Philip  his  successor 
appeared  at  Plymouth,  and  renewed  his  professions  of 
peace.  But  the  great  chieftain,  foreseeing  the  inevitable 
fate  of  his  race,  unless  the  march  of  the  white  population 
could  be  arrested,  was  secretly  nourishing  his  schemes 
of  vengeance,  which  precipitated  the  terrible  war  of 
1675.  A  conviction  on  the  part  of  Governor  Prence,, 
that  such  was  in  fact  the  deliberate  purpose  of  the  wily 
Philip,  caused  him  to  adopt  the  rigorous  measures 
which  have  been  noticed,  and  for  which  his  wisdom  and 
humanity  have  sometimes  been  called  in  question.  In 
his  belief,  however,  they  were  necessary  to  guard  the 
colony  from  sudden  war ;  and  we  know  that  the  terrible 
struggle  did  not  ensue  until  after  his  death. 

The  visit  from  the  Royal  Commissioners,  Nicolls, 
Carr,  and  others,  in  1665,  was  also  productive  of  much 
uneasiness  in  the  colony,  and  not  a  little  embarrassment 
to  the  authorities.  New  Plymouth  was  at  this  time  the 
weakest  of  all  the  colonies ;  but  she  nevertheless  con- 
trived to  hold  on  to  her  independence.  The  Com- 
missioners promised  them  a.  charter,  if  they  would  set 
an  example  of  compliance,  by  allowing  the  King  to  select 
their  governors;  but  the  general  court,  after  due  deliber- 
ation, "with  many  thanks  to  the  Commissioners,  and  great 
protestations  of  loyalty  to  the  King,  chose  to  be  as  they 
were." 

Governor  Prence  extended  to  these  Commissioners 
a  most  cordial  reception,  as  the  authorized  agents  of  the 
King,  and  so  managed,  by  a  little  skillful  courtesy,  as 
to  avoid  giving  them  the  offence  which  the  proceedings 
in  Massachusetts  had  occasioned.  In  the  reports  of  the 
Commissioners,  New  Plymouth  was  consequently  com- 


168  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

plimented  for  her  loyalty,  and  was,  not  long  after,  pro- 
mised the  especial  favour  of  the  King.* 

It  appears  from  the  report  of  the  Commissioners  to 
the  King,  that  but  "  one  plaint"  was  made  to  them  at 
Plymouth,  and  that  was,  that  "the  governor  would  not 
let  a  man  enjoy  a  farm  of  four  miles  square,  which  he 
had  bought  of  an  Indian."  The  fact,  that  no  complaint 
should  have  been  preferred,  except  this  one  against  the 
governor,  for  exercising  his  power  to  prevent  a  wrong, 
discovers  a  degree  of  public  confidence  in  the  local 
government  of  this  little  jurisdiction,  which  has  rarely 
been  equalled.  To  understand  the  grounds  of  the  inter- 
ference of  Governor  Prence,  in  this  case,  it  should  be 
remembered,  that  in  the  treaty  made  with  Massasoit  in 
1621,  and  renewed  with  that  sachem  and  his  son  Alexan- 
der, in  1639,  the  government  of  New  Plymouth  took  the 
precaution  to  prevent  the  Indians  from  disposing  of  their 
lands  to  individuals.     They  foresaw  that  the  practice,  if 

*  The  King  was  so  well  pleased  with  the  loyal  tone  of  the  people  of  New 
Plymouth,  at  this  period,  that  he  addressed  them  a  letter  couched  in  the  follow- 
ing o-racious  terms:  "Charles  R.  Trusty  and  well  beloved,  we  greet  you 
well.  Having  received  so  lull  and  satisfactory  an  account  from  our  commis- 
sioners, both  of  the  good  reception  you  have  given  them,  and  also  of  your  du- 
tifulness  and  obedience  to  us  :  We  cannot  but  let  you  know  how  much  we  are 
p'eised  therewith  ;  judging  that  respect  of  yours  towards  our  officers,  to  be  the 
true  and  natural  fruit  which  demonstrates  what  fidelity  and  affection  towards 
us  is  rooted  in  your  hearts.  And  although  your  carriage  doth  of  itself,  most 
justly  deserve  our  praise  and  approbation,  yet  it  seems  to  be  set  off  with  the  more 
lustre,  by  the  contrary  deportment  of  the  colony  of  Massachusetts,  as  if,  by 
their  refractoriness,  they  had  designed  to  recommend  and  heighten  the  merit 
of  your  compliance  with  our  directions,  for  the  peaceable  and  good  government 
of  our  subjects  in  those  parts.  You  may  therefore  assure  yourselves,  that  we 
shall  never  be  unmindful  of  this  your  loyal  and  dutiful  behavior,  but  shall, 
upon  all  occasions,  take  notice  of  it  to  your  advantage  ;  promising  you  our  con- 
stant protection  and  royal  favor,  in  all  that  may  concern  your  safety,  peace  and 
re.  And  so  we  bid  you  farewell.  Given  at  our  court  at  Whitehall,  the 
tOth  day  of  April,  1666,  in  the  18th  year  of  our  reign.  By  his  Majesty's  com- 
mand.    Will.  Morrice." 


THOMAS    PRENCE.  169 

allowed,  would  be  attended  with  the  most  pernicious 
consequences;  that  it  would  lay  the  foundations  for  end- 
less lawsuits.,  and  the  Indians  themselves  would  be 
eventually  stripped  of  all  their  lands,  by  the  deceptions 
and  intrigues  of  individuals.  They  therefore  determined 
to  consider  all  sales  by  the  Indians  to  individuals,  without 
the  assent  of  the  government,  as  invalid,  and  the  chiefs, 
father  and  son,  agreed  to  the  stipulation  that  none  such 
should  be  made.  The  wisdom  of  this  policy  can 
scarcely  be  doubted. 

Amidst  various  perplexities,  during  the  long  adminis- 
tration of  Governor  Prence,   the  government  at  New 
Plymouth  appears  on  the  whole  to  have  pursued  a  firm 
and  steady  course,  in  the  promotion  of  the  substantial 
interests  of  the  people;  and  if  we  except  a  lamentable 
departure  from  a  just  and  prudent  toleration  on  religious 
topics,  during  the  sixteen  successive  years  of  his  magis- 
tracy, it  is  believed,  that  little  will  be  found  to  reprehend, 
and  much  to  approve.     The  bigotry  which  stained  some 
portions  of  his  career,  was  common  to  the  age.     His 
integrity  was  never  questioned,  save  by  the  enthusiasts 
whom  he  looked  upon  as  scoffers,  and  whose  claim  to 
liberty  of  conscience,  appeared  to  him  but  a  claim  to 
reject  the  law  of  the  gospel  altogether.     When  Roger 
Williams,  in  1670,  bold  in  his  defence  of  the  great  prin- 
ciples of  religious  freedom,  proposed  to  Gov.  Prence,  to 
u  dispute  these  and  other  points  of  difference,"  before  the 
public,  at  Boston,  Hartford,  and  Plymouth,* — Governor 
Prence  replied,  declining  the  proposition,  but  in  terms 
which  proved  that  no  opposition  would  be  offered  to  him, 
and  no  restraint  imposed  upon  any  persons  who  might 

*  See  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  i.  275,  letter  of  Roger  Williams. 

22 


170  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

desire  to  hear  him.  He  denies  that  the  Plymouth  govern- 
ment had  any  design  to  oppress  a  neighboring  colony,  or 
to  deprive  them  of  "that  which  is  by  some  cried  up 
above  all  you  call  New  England's  gods,  viz.  liberty  for 
every  one  to  worship  God  as  he  lists,  or  liketh  best;  and 
why  not  what  God  he  liketh  best  also  ?"  He  declines  a 
public  discussion  with  Roger  Williams,  "  not  because  we 
have  not  some,  through  the  grace  of  God,  both  able  and 
willing  to  maintain  what  truth  we  profess  against  gain- 
sayers;  but  who  would  expect  to  be  any  whit  perfected 
or  completed  in  matters  appertaining  to  God's  worship, 
by  such  as  close  not  with  any  public  worship  upon  earth, 
that  is  known  ?  Not  I.  Such  worship,"  continues  Gov- 
ernor Prence,  "and  a  Samaritan  religion,  are  much  alike 
to  me."* 

The  administration  of  Governor  Prence  is  rendered 
illustrious,  by  his  zealous  efforts  to  introduce  a  regular 
system  of  free  schools  into  the  colony.  It  has  been  inti- 
mated that  a  keen  sense  of  his  own  deficiency  in  educa- 
tion, compared  with  the  ability  and  learning  of  his  im- 
mediate predecessors,  first  led  him  to  espouse  the  cause 
of  free  schools.  If  such  was  the  fact,  it  is  still  more  to 
his  credit;  as  a  sense  of  personal  deficiency  oftener  pro- 
duces exactly  the  contrary  result — a  desire  to' pull  down, 
rather  than  to  build  up,  the  institutions  of  learning.  It 
is  certain  that  he  met  with  earnest,  and  for  a  time  suc- 
cessful opposition,  and  that  at  first  he  succeeded  only  so 
far  as  to  effect  the  establishment  of  a  free  school  at  Ply- 
mouth, which  was  supported  by  the  profits  of  the  fishery 
at  Cape  Cod.  Previous  to  his  death,  however,  he  had 
the  satisfaction  to  behold  the  system  which  he  had  so 

*  See  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  vi.  203,  reply  of  Gov.  Prence. 


THOMAS    PRENCE.  171 

earnestly  advocated,  and  which  was  destined  to  work  out 
incalculable  benefits  to  posterity,  in  successful  operation 
in  most  of  the  towns  of  the  colony,  and  sustained,  as  he 
knew  it  must  be,  to  be  extensively  beneficial,  at  the  pub- 
lic expense.  In  the  inventory  of  the  library  of  Governor 
Prence,  after  his  decease,  44  school  books  are  mentioned. 
"  This  shews,  he  was  a  scholar,"  says  the  late  John  Cot- 
ton, Esq.,  in  a  manuscript  quoted  by  Judge  Davis.  The 
inference,  however,  is  somewhat  questionable,  when 
other  indications  are  considered.  But  though  he  was  not 
a  scholar,  he  was  impressed  with  the  importance  of  learn- 
ing in  the  community,  and  indulged  a  generous  zeal  in 
promoting  literary  acquisitions,  which  he  did  net  himself 
possess.  The  school  books,  in  his  possession  were  proba- 
bly intended  for  distribution  in  the  schools,  which  he  had 
succeeded  in  having  established  at  the  public  expense.* 
Governor  Prence  was  often  employed  in  other  public 
services  of  importance.  He  was  a  member  of  the  coun- 
cil of  war,  and  treasurer  of  the  colony ;  was  for  twelve 
years  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies, 
and  in  1672,  was  chosen  the  first  president  of  the  Board 
of  Commissioners,  under  the  new  articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, adopted  in  September  of  that  year.f 

The  integrity  of  Governor  Prence  was  proverbial 
among  the  people.  As  a  magistrate,  it  is  observed  of 
him,  that  he  so  scrupulously  rejected  every  thing  which 

*  Davis'  Morton,  423.  - 

t  See  account  of  the  first  union  of  the  Colonies,  page  120.  The  confederation 
of  the  four  colonies  in  1643,  was  re-organized  in  1672,  in  consequence  of  the 
union  of  the  New  Haven  colony  with  Connecticut,  in  1665,  and  other  changes 
in  the  relative  condition  of  the  colonies.  The  power  of  the  Commissioners  was 
now  somewhat  restricted,  and  instead  of  being  executive,  it  was  made  in  most 
cases  merely  advisory. — Baylies,  ii.  191. 


172  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

had  even  the  appearance  of  a  bribe,  that  if  any  person, 
who  had  a  cause  in  court,  sent  a  present  of  any  kind  to 
his  family  during  his  absence,  he  immediately  on  being 
informed  of  it,  returned  the  value  in  money — sometimes 
signifying  to  the  party  concerned  that  such  a  course  of 
conduct  was  more  likely  to  operate  to  his  injury  than  to 
advance  his  cause. 

His  industry,  energy,  and  sound  judgment,  rendered 
him  a  very  useful  instrument  in  conducting  the  affairs 
of  the  rising  colony,  and  would  have  made  him  a  very 
respectable  public  character  in  a  far  more  considerable 
community. 

During  his  administration,  there  were  two  revisals  of 
the  laws  of  the  colony  :  one  in  1658,  the  other  in  1671. 
The  last  digest  is  said  to  have  been  the  work  of  his 
hands.* 

Among  the  good  deeds  of  Governor  Prence,  we 
should  not  omit  to  mention  his  exertions  for  a  fixed  and 

*  The  revision  made  in  1671,  was  printed  in  1672,  by  Samuel  Green,  at  Cam- 
bridge, in  a  folio  of  50  pages.  Thomas'  Hist.  Print,  i.  260.  Baylies  says  "  that 
not  a  single  copy  of  the  printed  laws  is  now  extant.-"  Hist.  New  Plymouth, 
ii.  73.  He  is  however  in  error,  as  a  copy  of  the  edition  of  1671,  is  in  the  Libra- 
ry of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  These  laws  were  re-printed  for  the 
Colony  in  1685,  by  Green,  at  Boston,  in  a  folio  of  90  pages,  with  the  following 
title  :  "  The  Book  of  the  General  Laws  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Jurisdiction 
of  New-Plymouth,  collected  out  of  the  records  of  the  General  Court,  and  lately 
revised:  and  with  some  Emendations  and  Additions  Established  and  Disposed 
into  such  Order  as  they  may  readily  Conduce  to  General  Use  and  Benefit.  And 
by  the  Order  and  Authority  of  the  General  Court  of  New-Plymouth,  held  at 
Plymouth,  June  2d,  Anno  Dom.  1685.  Reprinted  and  Published.  Nathaniel 
Clerk,  Secrt.  Be  subject  to  every  Ordinance  of  Mini  for  the  Lord's  sake.  I  Pet. 
2.  13.  Boston  in  New  England  :  Printed  by  Samuel  Green,  1685."  A  fine 
copy  of  this  edition  of  the  Laws  of  New  Plymouth,  is  preserved  in  the  library  of 
Hon.  Peter  Force,  of  Washington  City;  appended  to  which  are  thirteen  pages 
of  manuscript,  containing  copies  of  sundry  Orders  made  by  Governor  Andros 
and  his  Council,  in  1687,  respecting  the  courts  of  law,  jurisdiction  of  justices  of 
the  peace,  &c.  apparently  copied  from  the  original  record,  and  certified  by  what 
appears  to  be  the  genuine  signature  of"  John  West,  D.  Secretary." 


THOMAS    PRENCE.  173 

competent  support  of  an  able  and  learned  ministry.  In 
many  of  the  scattered  settlements,  a  disposition  prevailed 
to  neglect  this  important  branch  of  public  instruction,  and 
to  employ  incompetent  lay  exhorters — practices  which 
he  uniformly  discountenanced. 

The  Plymouth  Church  records,  in  noticing  the  char- 
acter of  Governor  Prence,  depart  from  their  usual 
course,  by  an  indication  of  his  personal  appearance,  from 
which  it  may  be  supposed  that  it  was  peculiarly  digni- 
fied and  striking :  "  He  was  excellently  qualifyed  for 
the  office  of  governour.  He  had  a  countenance  full  of 
majesty,  and  therein,  as  well  as  otherwise,  a  terror  to 
evil  doers." 

Governor  Prence  died  at  his  residence  in  Eastham, 
29  March,  1673,*  in  the  73d  year  of  his  age.  His  re- 
mains were  brought  to  Plymouth,  and,  on  the  8th  of 
April  following,  honorably  interred  among  the  fathers 
on  Burial  Hill. 

Governor  Prence  was  twice  married.  His  only  son 
Thomas,  went  to  England  young,  married  there,  and  soon 
after  died,  leaving  an  only  daughter,  whose  name  was 
Susanna.  The  governor  was  anxious  that  she  should 
come  to  America,  but  this  was  prevented  by  the  fond- 
ness of  her  mother.  His  eldest  daughter  Rebecca,  was 
married  to  Edmund  Freeman,  Jr.  of  Sandwich.  These 
were  the  children  of  Patience  Brewster,  a  daughter  of 

*  "Thomas  Prence,  Esq.  Governor  of  the  Jurisdiction  of  New  Plymouth, 
died  29th  March,  1673,  and  was  interred  the  8th  of  April  following,  after  hee  had 
served  God  in  the  office  of  Governor  16  yeares,  or  neare  thereunto.  He  finished 
his  course  in  the  73  yeare  of  his  life  ;  hee  was  a  worthy  gentleman,  very  pious, 
and  very  able  for  his  office,  and  faithful  in  the  discharge  thereof,  studious  of 
peace,  a  well-wisher  to  all  that  feared  God,  and  a  terror  to  the  wicked ;  his 
death  was  much  lamented,  and  his  body  honorably  buried  at  Plymouth  the  day 
and  yeare  above  mentioned."     Plymouth  Colony  Records. 


174  THOMAS    PRENCE. 

the  venerable  William  Brewster,  to  whom  Governor 
Prence  was  married  in  1624.  By  his  second  wife,  Mary, 
who  was  the  daughter  of  William  Collier,  one  of  the 
assistants,  formerly  a  London  merchant,  and  to  whom  he 
was  married  in  1635,  he  was  the  father  of  seven  daugh- 
ters, viz:  Mary,  married  to  John  Tracy  of  Duxbury; 
Elizabeth,  to  Arthur  Howland  of  Duxbury;  Judith,  to 
Isaac  Barker  of  Duxbury ;  Hannah,  to  Nathaniel  Mayo, 
of  Eastham ;  Jane,  to  Mark  Snow  of  Eastham ;  Sarah, 
to  Jeremiah  Howes  of  Yarmouth  ;  Mercy,  to  John  Free- 
man of  Eastham. 

The  Governor  uniformly  wrote  his  name  Preivce,  as 
given  in  this  memoir.  The  common  orthography  is  sup- 
posed to  be  in  conformity  to  the  pronunciation,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  mode  of  spelling  adopted  by  the  families 
of  Prince,  who  settled  at  Nantasket  and  Hull.  Gov- 
ernor Prence  having  left  no  male  descendants,  those  of 
the  name  in  Boston,  and  other  parts  of  the  country,  are 
not  of  his  family ;  many  of  them  are  known  to  be  de- 
scended from  John  Prince  of  Hull,  son  of  Rev.  John 
Prince,  of  East  Shefford,  in  Berkshire,  England,  who 
came  to  this  country  in  1633,  settled  first  at  Watertown 
or  Cambridge,  was  admitted  freeman  in  1635,  removed 
to  Hull,  and  died  there  in  1676.  Rev.  Mr.  Prince,  the 
chronologist,  a  grandson  of  John  Prince,  remarks,  that 
Governor  Prence  highly  valued  him,  and  claimed  a  re- 
mote relationship. 


175 


V.     JOSIAS  WINSLOW. 

• 

Josias  Winslow,  the  fifth  governor  of  the  colony 
of  New  Plymouth,  was  the  son  of  Edward  Winslow,  of 
whose  life  and  public  services  some  account  has  been 
given  in  the  preceding  pages.  He  was  born  at  Marsh- 
field,  in  the  year  1629.*  In  his  early  education  he 
enjoyed  neither  the  discipline  nor  advantages  of  a  school 
or  college,  as  there  was  no  school  in  the  colony  at  that 
period ;  but  he  had  the  benefit  of  his  father's  immediate 
care  and  instruction,  as  well  as  of  the  counsels  and  assis- 
tance of  the  excellent  Mr.  Brewster  and  of  Governor 
Bradford ;  and  his  public  career  served  to  shew  that  he 
had  profited  by  their  examples  of  steady  virtue,  ener- 
getic spirit,  and  disinterested  public  action.  He  was  the 
first  native  of*  the  country  who  held  the  office  of  gover- 
nor, and  has  been  pronounced  "the  most  accomplished 
man  of  his  day  in  New  England." 

Mr.  Winslow  was  introduced  into  public  life  at  a  very 
early  age.  In  1643,  probably  as  soon  as  he  was  eligible 
to  that  post,  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  deputies  to  the 
general  court  from  the  settlement  at  Marshfield,  and  was 
elected  to  the  same  trust  in  several  subsequent  years. 
In  1657,  soon  after  the  death  of  his  father,  he  was  ap- 
pointed one  of  the  assistants,  and  was  annually  re-elected 
until  chosen  governor.  Two  years  afterwards,  in  1659, 
he  was  appointed  to  a  still  more  responsible  station,  in  the 

*  Some  writers  give  the  English  termination  to  the  christian  name  of  Mr. 
Winslow,  Josiah;  but  in  this  memoir,  the  name  is  given  as  I  find  it  uniformly 
written  by  himself,  in  all  the  manuscripts  which  I  have  seen,  containing  his 
signature. 


176  JOSIAS    WIJYSLOW. 

existing  condition  of  the  colony,  that  of  major,  or  chief 
military  commander  of  the  colony — a  post  hitherto  held 
by  the  warlike  Miles  Standish. 

In  the  early  periods  of  the  colonial  government,  the- 
highest  military  office  was  that  of  captain;  but  in  1653, 
the  military  force  was  placed  under  the  command  of  a 
major,  who  was  appointed  by  the  council  of  war,  con- 
sisting of  eleven  men,  to  whom  in  that  year  had  been 
transferred  the  whole  power  of  military  legislation  for 
the  colony,  and  the  appointment  of  all  military  officers. 
The  major  was  the  chief  officer  over  all  the  forces  of  the 
colony,  subject  only  to  the  instructions  of  the  council  of 
war. 

During  the  memorable  Indian  war  of  1675,  Governor 
Winslow  had  the  command  of  the  forces  of  the  confeder- 
ated colonies,  as  general-in-chief.  He  was  first  chosen 
one  of  the  commissioners  from  Plymouth  colony  under 
the  confederation,  in  165S,  and  was  re-elected  to  the 
same  office  annually  for  thirteen  successive  years. 

A  brief  survey  of  the  principles  and  objects  of  this 
celebrated  confederation  of  the  New  England  colonies — 
the  germ  of  our  present  happy  union  of  independent 
States — has  been  given  in  the  memoir  of  the  first  Gover- 
nor Winslow.* 

In  all  the  deliberations  of  the  Commissioners,  after  he 
became  a  member  of  that  body,  Mr.  Winslow  bore  a 
conspicuous  part,  and  exercised  a  salutary  influence.  It 
was  an  age  of  severe  religious  discipline.  The  tolera- 
tion of  any  sect  but  one's  own,  was  almost  universally 
considered  at  that  time  as  absolutely  heretical,  and  sub- 
versive of  all  religious  faith  and  discipline,  and  dangerous 

*  See  pp.  120—122,  of  this  volume. 


JOSIAS    WINSLOW.  177 

to  the  community.*  The  persecuted  had  in  turn  become 
the  persecutors.  The  laws  against  the  anabaptists,  and 
more  especially  those  against  the  Quakers,  not  then  so 
orderly  a  people  as  at  present,  were  severe  in  the  ex- 
treme, and  were  executed  to  the  very  letter:  fully  de- 
monstrating the  truth  of  the  remark  of  Montesquieu,  that 
iC  every  religion  which  is  persecuted,  becomes  itself  per- 
secuting; for  as  soon  as  by  some  accidental  turn  it  arises 
from  persecution,  it  attacks  the  religion  that  persecu- 
ted it." 

It  should  be  mentioned  as  a  circumstance  honorable 
to  the  character  of  Governor  Winslow,  that  he  opposed 
the  rigorous  measures  adopted  in  New  Plymouth  against 
the  Quakers.  When  the  Commissioners  of  the  United 
Colonies,  in  1658,  exasperated  by  the  obstinacy  and  vio- 
lence of  the  new  sect,  issued  to  the  several  colonies  the 
recommendation  that  they  should  be  put  to  death, 
"  unless  they  publicly  renounced  their  cursed  errors  " — 
he  had  the  moral  courage  to  oppose  this  horrible  edict, 
and  he  opposed  it  in  every  form.  It  is  not  often  that 
public  men  have  the  nerve  to  stand  up  in  opposition  to 
the  great  body  of  the  people  whom  they  serve ;  le.^s 
often  are  they  found  to  possess  the  strength  of  character 

*  The  early  writers  of  New  England  are  seldom  found  to  touch  upon  this 
subject,  otherwise  than  in  terms  of  bitterness.  Ward,  in  "  The  Simple  Cobler  of 
Agawam,"  says — "  That  state  that  will  give  Liberty  of  Conscience  in  matters 
of  Religion,  must  give  Liberty  of  Conscience  and  Conversation  in  their  Moral 
Laws,  or  else  the  Fiddle  will  be  out  of  Tune,  and  some  of  the  strings  crack.  *  *  * 
It  is  said,  That  Men  ought  to  have  Liberty  of  their  Conscience,  and  that  it  is' 
Persecution  to  debar  them  of  it :  I  can  rather  stand  amazed  than  reply  to  this  :• 
it  is  an  astonishment  to  think  that  the  brains  of  men  should  be  parboyl'd  in  such 
impious  ignorance  :  Let  all  the  wits  under  the  Heavens  lay  their  heads  to- 
o-ether  and  find  an  assertion  worse  than  this,  (one  excepted,)  I  will  petition  to  be 
chosen  the  universal  Ideot  of  the  World." — See  "The  Simple  Cobler,"  in 
Force's  Tracts,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  8. 

23 


178  JOSIAS    WINSLOW. 

and  capacity  necessary  to  enable  them  to  stem  the  tor- 
rent of  a  general  public  delusion.  This  independence 
of  the  popular  sentiment,  under  the  preceding  adminis- 
tration of  Governor  Prence,  had  caused  General  Cud- 
worth,  Isaac  Robinson,  and  other  excellent  men  to  be 
proscribed,  and  driven  from  public  employment;  but 
Mr.  Winslow's  popularity  was  such,  that  he  was  enabled 
to  sustain  himself  in  the  attitude  he  had  assumed.  He 
was  in  advance  of  the  times ;  and  the  people  soon 
began  to  see  ,t;  so  that  in  the  end,  when  the  popular 
delusion  had  passed  away,  he  was  the  more  admired,  and 
his  influence  became  the  stronger,  for  his  firmness  in 
maintaining  his  opinions. 

Governor  Prence  died  in  the  spring  of  1673,  and  at 
the  next  general  court,  which  was  held  in  June,  Mr. 
Winslow  was  chosen  his  successor.  He  had  now  an  op- 
portunity to  make  a  further  exhibition  of  his  tolerant 
principles.  We  accordingly  find  that  he  immediately 
determined  upon  the  restoration  of  a  most  valuable  citi- 
zen, then  in  retirement,  to  his  rights  as  a  freeman,  in 
order  that  he  might  avail  himself  of  the  benefit  of  his 
abilities  and  integrity  in  the  public  service.  This  per- 
son was  General  James  Cudworth,  an  assistant  from 
Scituate,  in  1657,  who  had  been  left  out  of  office,  and 
disfranchised,  under  the  administration  of  Governor 
Prence,  in  consequence  of  his  opposition  to  the  harsh 
proceedings  against  the  Quakers.*  Other  persons,  also 
proscribed  for  their  opposition  to  the  persecution  of  that 
sect,  were  soon  after  restored  to  their  rights  as  freemen 
by  Governor  Winslow.  One  of  these  was  Isaac  Robin- 
son, son  of  the  venerable  puritan  founder,  John  Robin- 

*  See  pp.  154,  of  this  volume. 


J0SIAS    WIN  SLOW.  179 

son,  who  seems  to  have  inherited  the  liberal  and  tolerant 
spirit  of  his  father. 

For  some  years  previous  to  1675,  the  people  of  the 
colony  had  lived  in  general  harmony  with  their  Indian 
neighbors.  The  treaty  of  1621  with  Massasoit  had  been 
scrupulously  observed,  and  while  he  lived,  the  Indians 
were  faithful  to  his  promises.  After  his  death,  his  son 
and  successor,  Alexander,  who  was  understood  to  be 
conspiring  with  the  Narragansetts  against  the  English, 
was  summoned  before  the  governor  and  council  at  Ply- 
mouth, to  answer  to  the  charge.  Hesitating  about  a  com- 
pliance with  this  abrupt  summons,  he  was  surprised  by 
a  party  under  the  command  of  Major  Winslow,  and 
finally  persuaded  by  one  of  his  own  counsellors  to  go  to 
the  house  of  the  governor  at  Plymouth.  His  indigna- 
tion was  so  great  at  his  surprisal,  that  it  threw  him  into 
a  fever.  He  had  leave  to  depart,  on  leaving  his  son  as 
a  hostage,  but  he  died  before  reaching  home.* 

Metacomet,  of  Pokanoket,  better  known  as  King 
Philrf),  succeeded  his  brother  Alexander.  He  affected 
to  renew  the  treaty  of  peace,  but  he  was  at  the  same 
time  secretly  meditating  the  overthrow  of  the  English. 
Far  more  intelligent  than  most  of  his  race,  he  beheld 
with  dismay  the  tokens  which  announced  the  falling  for- 
tunes of  his  country.  He  saw  his  people  wasting  away, 
and  that  they  must  ultimately  become  extinct.  He  had 
also  family  wrongs  to  redress,  and  personal  enmities  to 
avenge.  He  had  been  subjected  to  ignominious  treaties. 
The  expressions  of  reverence  and  respect  which  he  had 

*  See  particulars  in  relation  to  the  surprisal  and  death  of  the  sachem  Alex- 
ander, pp.  163 — 166,  ante.  Compare  also  accounts  in  Drake's  Book  of  the  In- 
dians, b.  iii.  and  authorities<there  cited. 


180  JOSIAS    WINSLOW. 

uttered  for  the  British  monarchy  had  been  construed  into 
submission,  and  an  acknowledgment  of  fealty.  When 
summoned  on  some  occasion  to  renew  his  treaty  with 
the  English,  he  replied,  "Your  Governor  is  but  a  sub- 
ject of  King  Charles  of  England.  I  shall  not  treat  with 
a  subject.  I  shall  treat  of  peace  only  with  the  King,  my 
brother.  When  he  comes,  I  am  ready !"  Such,  was 
the  lofty  spirit  of  the  last  monarch  of  the  Wampanoags. 
But  he  could  not  maintain  it,  nor  withstand  the  rapidly 
advancing  power  of  the  whites.  They  repeatedly  sum- 
moned him  to  appear  before  the  English  courts  at  Ply- 
mouth and  at  Boston,  sometimes  upon  frivolous  charges, 
and  he  was  compelled  to  answer  the  summons.  He  was 
charged  with  perfidy,  for  breaking  promises  made  while 
under  restraint,  and  with  impiety,  for  adhering  to  the  re- 
ligion of  his  ancestors,  incompliance  with  the  injunctions 
of  his  lather.*  And  he  was  finally  required  to  deliver 
into  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  all  his  weapons  of  defence. 
Such  were  his  supposed  wrongs.  His  vengeance  could 
be  glutted  only  by  the  blood  of  his  enemies.  His  sHheme 
to  accomplish  that  vengeance,  was  one  of  the  most  ex- 
traordinary ever  conceived  by  the  mind  of  a  savage.  He 
visited  all  the  tribes  dwelling  within  the  limits  of  New 
England,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  combination  to 
exterminate  the  whites.  The  plot  seems  to  have  been 
well  and  carefully  laid,  and  was  ripening  apace.  Of  this 
confederacy  he  was  to  be  the  chief.  Though  the  sachem 
of  a  petty  tribe,  he  soon  raised  himself  to  a  prouder 
eminence  than  was  ever  before  attained  by  the  red  man 
of  North  America.  The  Narragansetts  had  engaged  to 
join   him  with  their  whole  strength,  so  that  he  could 

*  Hutchinson's  History  of  the   Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  276. 


JOSIAS    WIXRLOW.  181 

bring  into  service  between  three  and  four  thousand  war- 
riors.  The  spring  of  1676,  was  the  period  fixed  for 
commencing  this  great  enterprise.  '  The  attack  was  to 
have  been  simultaneous  from  the  Cocjieco  to  the  Narra- 
gansett.  But  the  plot  was  prematurely  developed,  and 
Philip  was  forced  to  commence  the  struggle  before  he 
was  prepared,  and  under  many  disadvantages. 

The  war  commenced  in  June,  1675,  in  the  following- 
manner.  John  Sausaman,  a  praying,  or  Christian  Indian, 
friendly  to  the  English,  gave  them  notice  of  the  hostile 
intentions  of  Philip  and  his  allies.  The  information  he 
gave,  cost  him  his  life.  He  was  met  soon  afterwards  by 
three  or  four  of  Philip's  Indians,  on  a  frozen  pond,  when 
they  knocked  him  down,  and  put  him  under  the  ice, 
leaving  his  gun  and  hat  upon  the  ice,  to  make  the  English 
believe  that  he  accidentally  fell  in  and  was  drowned. 
When  the  body  was  found,  the  wounds  upon  his  head, 
and  the  testimony  of  an  Indian,  who,  from  a  hill  over- 
looking the  spot,  saw  the  murder  committed,  were  suffi- 
cient proofs  against  the  murderers.  They  were  there- 
upon arrested,  tried  at  Plymouth  in  June,  1675,  con- 
demned, and  executed.  Governor  Winslow,  in  a  letter 
to  the  governor  of  Massachusetts,  dated  4  July,  1675, 
says,  "I  do  solemnly  profess  we  know  not  anything  from 
us  that  might  put  Philip  upon  these  motions,  nor  have 
we  heard  that  he  pretends  to  have  suffered  any  wrong 
from  us,  save  only  that  we  had  killed  some  Indians,  and 
intended  to  send  for  himself,  for  the  murder  of  John 
Sausaman.  The  last  that  was  executed  this  week,  con- 
fessed that  he  saw  the  other  two  do  the  murder.  Neither 
had  we  any  thoughts  to  command  him  in  about  it." 
Among  the  Indians,  a  murderer  was  left  to  the  revenge 


182  J0S1AS    WINSLOW., 

of  relatives  and  friends  of  the  victim;  but  the  renegade 
and  traitor,  was  to  be  slain  by  any  of  the  tribe  who  should 
be  able  to  reach  him.  Philip  regarded  Sausaman  as  a 
traitor.  Enraged  to  see  the  immediate  actors  bro.ught 
to  punishment  by  the  English  laws,  and  expecting  that 
it  would  be  his  own  turn  next,  being  conscious  that  the 
murderers  were  employed  by  him,  he  took  no  pains  to 
exculpate  himself;  but  gathered  what  strangers  he  could, 
and  together  with  his  own  men,  marched  them  up  and 
down  the  country  in  arms. 

Governor  Winslow  ordered  a  military  watch  to  be 
kept  up  in  every  town,  but  took  no  other  notice  of  the 
conduct  of  the  Indians,  hoping  that  when  Philip  saw 
that  measures  were  used  for  apprehending  him,  the 
threatened  storm  would  blow  over,  as  it  had  done  sever- 
al times  before.  But  the  Indians  coming  in  to  him  from 
several  quarters,  gave  him  fresh  courage,  and  he  behaved 
with  insolence,  first  threatening  the  English  at  Swansey, 
then  killing  some  of  their  cattle,  and  at  length  rifling 
their  houses.  An  Englishman,  at  Swansey,  was  at 
length  so  provoked,  that  he  fired  upon  an  Indian,  and 
wrounded  him. 

This  was  an  act  that  Philip  desired,  as  among  his 
people  there  was  a  superstitious  belief,  that  the  party 
which  first  shed  blood  in  the  struggle,  would  finally  be 
conquered.  He  now  commenced  an  active  war ;  and 
believing,  that  nothing  short  of  the  destruction  of  the 
English  would  secure  the  Indians  from  total  ruin,  he 
exerted  his  utmost  energies  in  prosecuting  a  war  of  ex- 
termination. Murder,  fire  and  desolation  marked  his 
course.  There  was  scarcely  an  English  family  that  did 
not  suffer  in  the  loss  of  relatives,  or  the  destruction  of 


JOSIAS    WINSLOW.  183 

property.  The  approach  of  the  enemy  was  noiseless, 
like  "the  pestilence  that  walketh  in  darkness;"  and  a 
dwelling  wrapt  in  flames,  or  a  family  barbarously  mur- 
dered and  scalped,  were  often  the  first  intimations  of 
their  appearance.* 

Under  the  new  articles  of  confederation,  the  regular 
triennial  meeting  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  United 
Colonies  was  holden  at  Boston,  in  September  of  this 
year,  (1675.)  Governor  Winslow  and  Thomas  Hinck- 
ley, the  two  Commissioners  from  Plymouth,  presented 
to  that  body  UA  brief  narrative  of  the  beginning  and 
progress  of  the  present  trouble  between  us  and  the  In- 
dians, taking  its  rise  in  the  colony  of  New  Plymouth, 
A.  D.,  1675."  This  paper,  probably  drawn  up  by  Gov- 
ernor Winslow,  recited  the  circumstances  which  went  to 
shew  the  undoubted  hostile  intent  of  Philip,  from  1671 
to  the  massacre  at  Swansey,  on  the  25th  of  June,  1675. 
The  United  Colonies  at  once  declared  the  war  to  be  a 
common  cause,  and  ordered  the  raising  of  a  thousand 
men. 

At  the  close  of  the  year,  the  colonies  became  aware 
of  the  necessity  of  prosecuting  an  active  campaign  in  the 
midst  of  winter.  It  was  no  longer  doubted  that  the 
Narragansett  Indians  were  in  secret  alliance  with  Philip. 
A  declaration  of  war  against  the  Narragansetts  was  ac- 
cordingly published  in  November,  by  the  Commissioners 
of  the  United  Colonies.  Governor  Winslow,  one  of 
their  body,  was  appointed  commander-in-chief  of  all  the 
the  forces.  He  was  well  qualified  for  this  important 
trust,  by  bravery  and  ability,  tempered  with  prudence 
and  discretion. 

*  Willard,  in  Farmer  and  Moore's  Hist.  Coll.  iii.  106. 


184  JOSIAS    WINSLOW. 

It  has  been  said  that  Governor  Winslow  was  an 
object  of  the  mortal  hatred  of  the  Wampanoags,  on  ac- 
count of  his  agency  in  the  capture  of  Alexander.  Philip 
made  no  secret  of  his  purpose  to  avenge  the  affront;  and 
the  governor  found  it  necessary  to  put  his  house  in  a 
complete  state  of  defence.  He  deemed  it  prudent,  also, 
while  the  war  lasted,  to  place  his  family  out  of  the  reach 
of  the  tomahawk,  and  he  accordingly  sent  his  wife  and 
children  to  Salem.* 

The  Commissioners,  deeming  it  of  the  highest  im- 
portance to  anticipate  their  enemies,  and  frustrate  their 
plans,  ordered  that  the  army  under  General  Winslow, 
should  prepare  for  active  service  by  the  10th  December. 
Instructions  were  drawn  up  in  form  for  the  conduct  of 
the  campaign,  addressed  to  General  Winslow ;  a  portion 
of  which,  was  as  follows  : — 

"  You  are,  at  the  time  appointed,  to  march  with  all 
convenient  speed,  with  the  forces  under  your  command, 
to  the  Narriganset  country,  or  to  the  place  where  the 
head  quarters  or  chief  rendezvous  of  the  enemy  is  known 
to  be.  And  having  acquainted  your  officers  and  soldiers 
of  your  commission  and  power,  you  shall  require  their 
obedience  thereunto ;  and  see  that  they  be  governed  ac- 

*  "  My  person,  I  hear,  has  been  much  threatened,  I  have  about  twenty  men 
at  my  house  ;  have  sent  away  my  wife  and  children  to  Salem,  that  I  may  be 
less  encumbered  ;  have  flankered  my  house,  and  resolve  to  maintain  it,  as  long 
as  a  man  will  stand  by  me."      Gov.  WinsIo7v  to  Gov.  Leverett,  4tk  July,  1675. 

The  following  order,  transcribed  from  the  Old  Colony  Records,  may  serve 
to  show  the  extent  of  the  dangers,  which  at  this  time  menaced  the  existence 
of  the  colony  :  "  Ordered  by  the  Court,  that  during  the  time  of  public  danger, 
that  every  one  that  comes  to  the  meeting  on  the  Lord's  day,  bring  his  arms 
with  him,  and  furnished  with  at  least  five  charges  of  powder -and  shot,  until 
further  order  shall  be  given,  under  penalty  of  2s.  for  every  such  default."  At 
the  same  time  an  order  was  passed,  prohibiting  the  waste  of  ammunition  by  firing 
at  any  thing,  "except  at  an  Indian,  or  a  wolf,"  under  a  further  penalty  of  5s. 
for  every  offence. 


JOSIAS   WINSLOW.  185 

cording  to  rules  military,  that  all  profaneness  and  dis- 
order in  your  camp  and  quarters  be  avoided  as  much  as 
in  you  lieth,  and  that  you  impartially  punish  the  break- 
ing forth  thereof  in  any. 

"  You  are  to  see  that  the  worship  of  God  be  kept 
up,  and  duly  attended  in  the  army,  by  daily  prayer  and 
invocation  of  His  name,  and  preaching  of  His  word  as 
you  have  opportunity,  and  the  Sabbath  be  not  profaned, 
but  that,  as  much  as  in  you  lies,  and  the  emergency  of 
your  service  will  admit,  you  take  care  it  be  duly  sanc- 
tified, and  your  ministers  respect  it. 

"And  that  you  endeavour  as  silently  and  suddenly  to 
surprise  the  enemy  as  you  can,  and  if  possible  draw  or 
force  them  to  an  engagement,  and  therein  to  do  valiantly 
for  the  honour  of  God  and  of  our  nation,  and  the  in- 
terest of  the  country;  and  that  you  encourage  valour  in 
any,  and  severely  punish  cowardice."* 

The  army  under  the  command  of  Winslow  consisted 
of  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  men,  including 
volunteers  and  Indians,  and  a  troop  of  horse,  under  com- 
mand of  Captain  Thomas  Prentice.  The  Massachusetts 
forces  were  divided  into  six  companies,  commanded  by 
Captains  Mosely,  Gardiner,  Davenport,  Oliver  and  John- 
son, under  Major  Appleton.  Those  of  Connecticut 
were  commanded  by  Major  Treat,  who  had»under  him 
Captains  Seily,  Mason,  Gallop,  Watts,  and  Marshall. 
The  Plymouth  forces  were  commanded  by  Major  Wil- 
liam Bradford,  son  of  Governor  Bradford,  and  Captain 
John  Gorham.  It  was  unfortunate  that  Captain  Churchy 
in  consequence  of  some  previous  misunderstanding  with 

*  The  Instructions  to  General  Winslow,  are  published  in  III  Mass,  Hist. 
Coll.,  i.  66. 

24 


186  JOSIAS    WINSLOW. 

the  government,  was  prevented  having  a  command  on 
this  occasion;  but,  at  the  particular  desire  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief, he  took  part  in  the  campaign  as  a  volun- 
teer. The  Narragansett  country,  in  which  were  to  be 
the  war  operations,  was  almost  an  entire  wilderness. 
Philip's  fort  was  located  in  South  Kingston,  Rhode 
Island,  in  an  immense  swamp,  in  the  centre  of  which  was 
a  piece  of  high  ground,  comprising  about  five  or  six 
acres.  The  fortification  was  formed  by  high  pallisades, 
encircling  the  whole  of  the  elevated  land.  The  palli- 
sades  were  encompassed  by  a  thick  and  almost  impenetra- 
ble hedge  of  fallen  trees,  with  their  branches  pointing 
outward,  of  almost  a  rod  in  width.  At  one  corner  there 
was  an  opening,  where  a  large  fallen  tree  was  placed, 
rising  four  or  five  feet  from  the  ground,  but  this  entrance 
was  defended  by  a  sort  of  block-house,  and  by  flankers 
at  the  sides.  The  common  entrance  into  this  fort,  was 
by  passing  along  the  body  of  a  tree,  which  had  been 
thrown  over  a  body  of  deep  water  between  the  fort  and 
the  main  land,  which  could  be  done  only  in  single  file. 
Within  this  strong  enclosure,  the  Indians  had  erected 
about  five  hundred  wigwams  of  superior  construction, 
intended  for  the  winter  quarters  of  their  whole  people, 
men,  women  and  children.  Here  they  had  deposited  a 
large  quantfty  of  provisions,  and  baskets  and  tubs  of  corn 
were  so  piled  one  upon  another,  as  to  afford  additional 
defence  against  the  English  bullets.  It  is  estimated  that 
not  less  than  three  thousand  people  had  collected  here, 
as  their  safe  retreats.  The  warriors  were  armed  with 
bows  and  arrows,  muskets  and  tomahawks. 

1  On  the    18th  December,   1675,  General  Winslow's 
army  marched  to  attack  Philip  and  his  Narragansett  al- 


JOSIAS    WINSLOW.  187 

lies,  in  their  strong  fort;  the  weather  was  cold  and 
stormy,  and  the  snow  more  than  ankle  deep  on  the 
ground.  The  houses  on  their  route,  in  which  they  ex- 
pected to  quarter  that  night,  had  been  burnt  down  by 
the  Indians,  before  their  arrival,  and  they  were  destitute 
of  shelter  during  the  night.  At  the  dawn  of  the  follow- 
ing day,  they  resumed  their  march  of  fifteen  miles,  and 
at  one  o'clock,  reached  the  margin  of  the  swamp,  where, 
having  no  shelter  from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather, 
and  being  short  of  provisions,  they  resolved  to  make  an  im- 
mediate attack.  Not  an  Englishman  was  acquainted  with 
the  situation  of  the  Indian  fort ;  but  it  was  fortunate  for 
them,  that,  a  few  days  before,  some  thirty-five  of  Philip's 
men  had  been  made  prisoners  by  Captain  Mosely,  among 
whom  was  one  named  Peter,  who  turned  traitor  to  his 
countrymen,  and  undertook  to  guide  the  army  through 
the  intricate  paths  of  the  forest  to  the  seat  of  his  Sachem. 
The  assault  was  now  commenced;  the  Indians  at  the 
margin  of  the  swamp  were  driven  to  their  strong  hold, 
and  the  troops,  without  any  regular  order,  rushed  im- 
petuously up  to  the  barriers  of  the  fort;  the  officers  and 
men  were  intermixed,  but  they  faced  death  with  boldness 
and  courage.  The  gallant  Captains,  Johnson  and  Daven- 
port, with  a  number  of  their  men,  were  soon  seen  to  fall, 
and  as  one  after  another  was  swept  off  at  the  narrow 
passage,  by  the  enemy's  fire,  others  supplied  the  places 
of  the  slain.  Overwhelmed  by  the  deadly  fire  of  the 
Indians,  there  was  a  momentary  recoil,  and  the  troops 
throwing  themselves  down  with  their  faces  to  the  ground, 
the  bullets  passed  over  them.  Two  other  companies  ad- 
vancing, were  also  compelled  to  retreat;  but,  animated 
by  the  exhortations  and  exertions  of  General  Winslow 


188  JOSIAS    WINSLOW. 

and  Major  Appleton,  the  soldiers  were  rallied,  and  again 
resumed  the  conflict.  A  few  officers  and  men  had  now 
forced  their  way  into  the  fort,  and  here  commenced  a 
personal  combat,  hand  to  hand.  At  this  moment,  a 
voice  was  heard,  "they  run!  they  run!"  This  operated 
like  enchantment  upon  the  English,  and  a  general  rush 
through  the  barriers  ensued;  the  Indians  were  driven 
from  their  posts  at  every  point,  and  from  wigwam  to 
wigwam  in  great  confusion.  An  immense  slaughter 
took  place;  neither  men,  women  nor  children  were 
spared ;  all  were  hewn  down,  and  the  ground  was  liter- 
ally encumbered  with  heaps  of  the  slain.  In  the  midst 
of  this  awful  fight,  fire  was  communicated  to  their  wig- 
wams, when  the  bowlings  and  yells  of  the  savages  were 
mingled  with  the  roar  of  musketry,  the  raging  of  the 
consuming  fire,  and  the  screams  of  the  women  and  chil- 
dren ;  altogether  forming  a  scene  inconceivably  appalling 
to  humanity. 

The  battle  continued  for  three  hours  with  unexam- 
pled ferocity  and  obstinacy;  quarters  were  neither  asked 
nor  received,  but  carnage  and  death  were  on  every  side. 
The  whole  army,  officers  and  men,  fought  with  undaunt- 
ed courage;  the  captains  led  their  men  to  the  conflict, 
and  continued  at  their  head  till  they  received  the  fatal 
bullet.  Captain  Church,  always  brave,  and  never  in- 
active, by  permission  led  the  second  party  that  entered 
the  fort,  and  while  within,  he  was  struck  at  the  same  in- 
stant with  three  bullets  from  a  party  of  the  enemy.  He 
received  a  severe  wound  in  his  thigh,  and  another  slight 
wound,  but  the  third  bullet  struck  against  a  thick  pair  of 
woollen  mittens,  which  was  doubled  in  his  pocket,  which 
saved  him  from  a  fatal  wound.     For  some  time  after  the 


JOSIAS    WINSLOW.  189 

fort  was  in  possession  of  the  English,  the  combatants  in 
various  parts  of  the  swamp,  continued  the  work  of 
slaughter. 

The  English  being  masters  of  the  fort,  it  became  a 
question  whether  to  hold  possession  of  it  for  the  present, 
or  to  abandon  it  immediately.  General  Winslow  and 
Captain  Church  were  decidedly  in  favor  of  holding  pos- 
session. As  the  darkness  of  night  was  approaching,  the 
troops  might  find  shelter  in  the  wigwams  that  were  not 
burnt,  and  avail  themselves  of  the  Indians'  provisions, 
which  they  greatly  needed.  But  this  measure  was  vio- 
lently and  very  improperly  opposed  by  one  of  the  Cap- 
tains and  a  surgeon,  probably  from  the  apprehension  that 
the  Indians  might  rally  their  forces,  and  drive  them  from 
the  fort  in  their  turn.  The  surgeon  asserted  that  un- 
less the  wounded  were  removed  that  night,  it  could  not 
be  effected  the  next  clay,  when  their  wounds  .would  be 
inflamed  and  painful;  and  turning  to  Captain  Church, 
whose  blood  was  then  flowing  from  his  wounds,  impu- 
dently said  to  him,  ( that  if  he  gave  such  advice,  he  should 
bleed  to  death  like  a  dog,  before  he  would  endeavor  to 
staunch  his  wound.'  It  was  now  decided  to  quit  the 
ground,  which  was  done  with  some  precipitation,  leav- 
ing eight  of  their  dead  in  the  fort.  It  was  indeed  a  cruel 
dilemma,  after  fighting  three  hours,  to  be  compelled  to 
march  fifteen  miles  through  the  snow,  and  in  a  most 
boisterous  night,  before  they  could  halt,  and  the  wounded 
could  be  dressed ;  and  it  is  not  strange  that  many  of  the 
wounded  died  before  they  could  reach  their  destined 
quarters.  Drake  has  well  said,  that  the  sufferings  of  the 
English  after  this  fight,  are  almost  without  a  parallel  in 
history.     The  horrors  of  Moscow  will  not  longer  be  re-* 


190  JOSIAS    WINSLOW. 

membered.  The  myriads  of  modern  Europe  assembled 
there,  bear  but  a  small  proportion  to  the  number  of  their 
countrymen,  compared  with  that  of  the  army  of  New 
England  and  theirs,  in  the  fight  at  Narragansett.* 

Thus  ended  this  memorable  engagement,  and  the  vic- 
tory on  the  side  of  the  English  was  purchased  at  the  high 
price  of  eighty  men  killed,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty 
wounded.  Six  brave  captains  were  killed,  viz :  Daven- 
port, Gardiner,  Johnson,  Gallop,  Seily,  and  Marshall. 
Lieutenant  Upham  was  mortally  wounded,  and  Captain 
John  Gorham,  of  Barnstable,  died  of  a  fever  on  the  ex- 
pedition. The  number  of  Indians  slain  is  uncertain;  but 
Hubbard  says  it  was  confessed  by  Potock,  a  great  coun- 
sellor amongst  them,  who  was  taken  and  executed,  that 
seven  hundred  fighting  men  were  slain,  and  three  hun- 
dred wounded,  the  most  of  whom  died.  The  number 
of  old  men,  women  and  children,  who  were  burnt  in 
their  wigwams,  and  who  died  from  hunger  and  cold, 
must  have  been  immense. 

Such  was  the  result  of  the  great  Narragansett-Swamp 
Fight.  The  suddenness  of  the  retreat  rendered  the 
honors  of  the  victory  equivocal,  but  the  consequences  of 
victory  followed ;  the  Narragansetts  never  recovered  from 
the  effects  of  this  terrible  disaster.  If  treachery  was  ac- 
tually designed,  the  crime  was  sufficiently  expiated  by 
this  horrible  infliction. 

When  General  Winslow  arrived  at  his  quarters  at 
Wickford,  four  hundred  of  his  soldiers,  besides  the 
wounded,  were  rendered  unfit  for  duty,  and  many  of 

*  Book  of  the  Indians,  b.  iii  c.  2.  See  accounts  of  the  Narragansett  war, 
as  given  by  Church,  Hubbard,  Mather,  Hutchinson,  Trumbull,  Baylies,  &c. 
Drake's  invaluable  book  embodies  all  that  is  necessary  to  be  known  of  the 
Indians  of  New  England. 


JOSIAS    WINSLOW.  191 

them  were  frost-bitten.     The  snow  that  fell  during  the 
night  rendered  travelling  almost  impracticable. 

After  some  ineffectual  attempts  to  renew  the  peace, 
General  Winslow,  in  January,  1 676,  marched  for  the 
swamp,  where  the  diminished  forces  of  the  Narragan- 
setts  were  posted.  As  the  English  approached,  the  In- 
dians fled,  and  when  overtaken,  dispersed  singly  into  the 
swamps,  where  it  became  a  vain  effort  to  pursue  them. 
The  war  however  was  prosecuted  with  unabated  vigor, 
in  the  following  year,  until  the  death  of  Philip,  in  Au- 
gust, 1676,  put  a  period  to  the  contest.  The  Indians  in 
all  the  surrounding  country,  after  the  fall  of  their  great 
leader,  generally  submitted  to  the  English,  or  fled  and 
became  incorporated  with  distant  tribes. 

In  this  distressing  war,  more  than  six  hundred  of  the 
colonists  were  slain,  twelve  or  thirteen  towns  were  laid 
waste,  and  about  six  hundred  buildings,  chiefly  dwell- 
ings, were  destroyed  by  the  Indians.  The  colonists  con- 
soled themselves  with  the  reflection,  that  they  had  not 
made  a  war  of  aggression,  and  that  it  was  on  their  part 
unprovoked.  In  a  letter  dated  1  May,  1676,  Governor 
Winslow  remarked  :  "  I  think  I  can  clearly  say,  that,, 
before  these  present  troubles  broke  out,  the  English  did 
not  possess  one  foot  of  land  in  this  colony  which  was  not 
fairly  obtained,  by  honest  purchase  from  the  Indian  pro- 
prietors." 

The  fall  of  Philip  was  then  considered  as  the  extinc- 
tion of  a  virulent  and  implacable  enemy.  It  is  now 
viewed  as  the  fall  of  a  great  warrior,  a  penetrating  states- 
man, and  a  mighty  prince.  It  then  excited  universal  joy 
and  congratulation,  as  a  prelude  to  the  close  of  a  merci- 
less war.     It  now  awakens  sober  reflections,  on  the  in- 


192  JOSIAS    WINSLOW. 

stability  of  empire,  the  peculiar  destiny  of  the  aboriginal 
race,  and  the  inscrutable  decrees  of  Heaven.  The  patri- 
otism of  the  man  was  then  overlooked,  in  the  cruelty  of 
the  savage  ;  and  little  allowance  was  made  for  the  natu- 
ral jealousy  of  the  sovereign,  on  account  of  the  barbari- 
ties of  the  warrior.  Philip,  in  the  progress  of  the  En- 
glish settlements,  foresaw  the  loss  of  his  territory,  and  the 
extinction  of  his  tribe*;  and  made  one  mighty  effort  to 
prevent  these  calamities.  He  fell,  and  his  fall  contribu- 
ted to  the  rise  of  the  United  States.* 

The  enterprising  spirit  of  Governor  Winslow  was  too 
great  for  his  feeble  frame,  and  at  the  beginning  of  Febru- 
ary, 1676,  he  was  compelled  to  retire  from  a  command, 
which  required  a  considerable  degree  of  physical  hardi- 
hood no  less  than  military  skill.  The  commissioners  of 
the  United  Colonies  voted  him  a  gratuity  of  one  hundred 
pounds,  and  a  grant  was  also  made  to  him  by  the  Ply- 
mouth Colony,  in  testimonial  of  the  high  sense  enter- 
tained by  the  people  of  his  eminent  services  in  the  pre- 
ceding campaign. 

After  the  Indian  war  had  terminated,  the  attention 
of  the  government  was  directed  to  the  great  object  of 
obtaining  from  the  King,  the  long  promised  charter  for 
the  colony.  Connecticut  had  received  her  charter,  and 
the  royal  favor  had  been  promised  in  express  terms  to 
the  people  of  Plymouth.  Governor  Winslow,  well 
aware  of  the  perverse  policy  prevailing  in  the  mother 
country,  and  of  the  efforts  making  by  Massachusetts  to 
obtain  a  grant  of  the  lands  of  Mount  Hope,  conquered 
from  the  Indians,  deemed  it  expedient  to  enlist  the  aid 
of  Edmund  Randolph,  sometimes  called  the  "evil  genius 

*  Ramsay's  Univ.  Hist.,  i.  286. 


JOSIAS    WINSLOW.  193 

of  New  England,"  who  had  just  been  appointed  to  the 
collectorship  of  Boston,  and  possessed  some  influence  at 
court.  Mount  Hope  was  claimed  by  Rhode  Island,  and 
also  by  John  Crown,  a  favorite  at  court,  who  urged  his 
suit  upon  the  ground  of  losses  sustained  by  his  father  in 
the  surrender  of  Nova  Scotia  to  the  French,  by  the 
treaty  of  Breda. 

The  necessity  of  sending  an  agent  to  London  now 
became  apparent,  and  Governor  Winslow  was  solicited 
to  undertake  the  mission.  Randolph,  in  a  letter  to  him, 
dated  29  Jan.  1680,  says — "The  inclosed,  from  Crown, 
came  to  my  hands  at  Piscataqua :  by  that  you  will  easily 
see  a  necessity  of  speeding  for  court.  I  did  not  forget 
to  signify  your  grateful  receipt  of  his  Majesty's  letters ; 
and  being  indisposed,  you  desired  that  nothing  might  be 
done  about  Mount  Hope,  till  somebody  did  appear  from 
your  colony.  Sir,  be  assured  Mr.  Crown  will  be  doing, 
and  his  interest  at  court  is  not  small ;  and  considering  the 
necessity  there  is  of  renewing  your  charter,  you  can  never 
do  your  colony  greater  service,  than  to  appear  yourself  at 
Whitehall,  where  you  will  very  well  stem  his  designs. 
I  know  not  yet  but  I  may  wait  upon  you  to  England,  in- 
tending to  be  where  I  may  be  most  serviceable  to  his 
majesty's  affairs,  and  assistant  to  the  people  of  this  coun- 
try."* 

Governor  Winslow's  declining  health,  however,  put 
it  out  of  his  power  to  gratify  the  wishes  of  the  peo- 
ple. It  might  have  been  fortunate  for  the  colony,  had 
it  been  otherwise;  as  the  reputation  which  Governor 
Winslow  enjoyed  at  home  and  in  England,  aided  by  his 
own  address  and  accomplishments  as  a  statesman  and 

*  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  vi.  02. 

25 


194  JOSIAS    WINSLOW. 

gentleman,  might  have  secured  a  charter,  and  perhaps 
prolonged  the  separate  existence  of  the  Old  Colony. 

If  it  can  be  said  that  any  one  is  fortunate,  it  may  be 
truly  said  of  the  second  Governor  Winslow.  His  whole 
life  was  passed  during  the  existence  of  the  colony  of 
which  he  was  a  native.  He  knew  no  other  country. 
He  died  while  it  was  independent,  and  before  the  extinc- 
tion of  its  independence  was  anticipated  or  seriously  ap- 
prehended. 

The  early  colonists,  when  they  looked  into  their  sit- 
uation, must  always  Jiave  felt  a  deep  apprehension  of 
possible  evils — a  sense  of  insecurity  ;  an  anticipation  of 
the  desolation  and  bloodshed  of  an  Indian  war.  At  the 
time  of  his  death,  the  question  was  settled ;  the  abori- 
ginals were  conquered ;  and  such  as  remained  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  the  English,  were  beginning  to  be  objects  of 
commiseration,  rather  than  of  terror. 

In  the  accomplishment  of  this  great  work,  Governor 
Winslow  had  been  a  principal  and  triumphant  actor.  In 
his  native  colony,  he  had  stood  upon  the  uppermost 
heights  of  society.  Civic  honors  awaited  him  in  his  ear- 
liest youth;  he  reached  every  elevation  which  could  be 
obtained,  and  there  was  nothing  left  for  ambition  to  covet, 
because  all  had  been  gained.  The  governor  acquired 
the  highest  military  rank,  and  had  been  engaged  in  active 
and  successful  warfare,  with  the  highest  command  then 
known  in  New  England.  He  presided  over  the  legisla- 
tive, executive,  and  judicial  departments  of  the  govern- 
ment. 

Governor  Winslow  lived  on  his  ample  paternal  do- 
main, and  his  hospitality  was  not  only  generous,  but 
(according  to  the  notions  of  the  age)  magnificent.     In 


JOSIAS    WINSLOW.  195 

addition  to  his  military  and  civic  distinctions,  he  had  ac- 
quired that  of  being  the  most  accomplished  gentleman, 
and  the  most  delightful  companion  in  the  colony ;  and 
the  attractions  of  the  festive  and  social  board  at  Careswell, 
were  not  a  little  heightened  by  the  charms  of  his  beauti- 
ful wife. 

Mild  and  tolerant  himself,  he  witnessed  with  regret 
the  movements  of  that  fierce  spirit  which  would  not  tole- 
rate the  liberality,  and  was  blind  to  the  wisdom  of  Cud- 
worth,  Robinson,  and  others ;  and  he  had  the  address  to 
restore  them  to  the  confidence  of  the  people,  at  a  period 
when  the  curse  of  the  age,  the  spirit  of  religious  bigotry, 
was  maddened  by  opposition,  and  armed  with  conscious 
power. 

Persevering,  frank,  bold,  and  resolute,  he  encoun- 
tered the  hazards  of  popular  displeasure,  with  the  same 
fearlessness  that  he  did  the  ambushes  and  bullets  of  the 
savages — and  he  was  successful. 

Such  was  the  heart,  and  such  the  spirit  which  ani- 
mated the  feeble  frame  of  Josias  Winslow.  His  health, 
never  good,  was  much  impaired  by  fatigues  and  exposure 
in  the  Narragansett  campaign ;  after  the  war  was  over 
it  rapidly  declined,  and  he  sunk  into  his  grave  at  the  age 
of  fifty-one,  in  the  fullness  of  his  honors,  and  with  his 
mental  faculties  unsubdued  by  disease,  and  unimpaired 
by  age.  This  bright  picture  of  his  character  has  its 
shades ;  his  courage  bordered  on  rashness,  and  his  easy 
temper  sometimes  exposed  him  to  the  machinations  of 
the  unworthy.* 

Governor  Winslow  died  on  the  18th  December,  1680, 
in  the  fifty  second  year  of  his  age.     The  expenses  of  his 

*  Baylies'  History  of  New  Plymouth,  Part  IV.  8—10.     Thacher,  139. 


196  JOSIAS    WINSLOW. 

funeral  were  directed  to  be  paid  from  the  public  treasu- 
ry, ain  testimony  of  the  colony's  endeared  love  and  af- 
fection to  him."* 

Governor  Winslow  married  Penelope,  daughter  of 
Herbert  Pelham,  Esq.  of  Boston,  an  assistant  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  Massachusetts,  a  gentleman  of  ancient  family, 
connected  with  the  ducal  house  of  New  Castle.  Mr. 
Pelham  took  an  early  interest  in  the  settlement  of  New 
England,  and  came  to  Boston  in  1645.  He  was  an  as- 
sistant in   Massachusetts,  from   1646  to  1649,  when  he 

*  Tradition  furnishes  the  following  anecdote  ;  At  the  funeral  of  Governor 
Winslow,  Rev.  Mr.  Witherell,  of  Scituate,  prayed  "that  the  Governor's  son 
might  be  made  half  equal  to  his  father."  The  Rev.  Dr.  Gad  Hitchcock,  on 
the  same  occasion,  observed,  "that  the  prayer  was  so  very  reasonable,  that  it 
might  be  hoped  that  God  would  grant  it,  but  he  did  not." 

An  elegy  on  the  death  of  Governor  Winslow,  written  by  Elder  William 
Witherell,  of  Scituate,  when  eighty  years  old,  has  been  preserved.  The  fol- 
lowing extracts  mark  the  character  of  the  poem,  the  whole  of  which  may  be 
found  in  Deane's  History  of  Scituate,  395. 

"  How  many  dangers  hath  this  gentleman, 

In's  life  escaped,  hoth  hy  sea  and' land  ! 

Fort  fights,  Shoals,  Quicksand?,  Quagmires,  Boggs  and  Sloughs, 

Enough  to  plunge  an  hundred  strong  teamed  Ploughs, 

Yet  he  hrake  through  ;  but  now  we  see  him  have 

Mir'd  and  stuck  fast  in  a  dry  upland  grave. 

The  Pitcher  that  went  oft  whole  to  the  well, 

Comes  home  at  last,  crack'd  like  a  broken  shell. 

Our  Court  of  Justice  sits  in  widowhood  ; 

The  Judge  arrested — Baile  will  do  no  good. 

Judges  are  stayes  of  States,  when  such  stayes  fall, 

It  bodes  the  weak'ning  of  the  Judgment  Hall.     Isaiah  Hi.  2. 

Somewhat  above  thrice  compleat  seven  years  since, 

Plymouth  hath  lost  blest  Bradford,  Winslow,  Prince, 

Three  skilful  Pilots  through  this  Wilderness, 

To  conduct  Pilgrims  ;  all  three  called  t'undress 

Upon  the  top  of  Pisgah  ;  while  we  here     Deu.  xxxiv.  4,  5,  6. 

Left  Pilotless,  do  without  compass  steer. 

Thrice  honored  Rulers,  Elders,  People  all, 

Come  and  lament  this  stately  Cedar's  fall, 

Cut  down  at's  height,  full  noontide  blest  with  shine 

Of  Royal  favour,  and  (no  doubt)  Divine  ; 

Freighted  with  tunns  of  honour.     Every  man 

At's  best  estate  is  altogether  vain.     Psalm  xxxix.  5." 
Judge  Davis,  in  a  note  to  Morton,  remarks,  that  "this  performance  cannot 
but  be  regarded  with  tenderness,  when  we  look  at  the  signature,   "  Mcestus 
posuit,  William  Witherell,  Octogenarius." 


JOSIAS    WINSLOW.  197 

returned  to  England.  He  was  of  the  same  family  with 
Thomas,  Lord  Pelham,  who  on  the  death  of  John  Hollis, 
Duke  of  New  Castle,  15  July,  1711,  succeeded  that  no- 
bleman in  his  titles  and  estates.  Penelope  Pelham,  a 
sister  of  Herbert  Pelham,  was  the  wife  of  Governor  Bel- 
lingham  of  Massachusetts.  In  the  will  of  Herbert  Pel- 
ham, dated  at  London,  January  1,  1673,  proved  March 
13,  1677,  he  is  called  of  Ferrers,  in  Bewers  Hamlet,  in 
the  county  of  Essex.  His  lands  in  Cambridge,  Water- 
town,  Sudbury,  and  elsewhere  in  New  England,  were 
given  to  his  son  Edward  Pelham ;  and  his  personal  pro- 
perty, in  this  country,  to  that  son  and  his  daughter  Pene- 
lope Winslow,  who  survived  her  husband.* 

Isaac  Winslow,  the  only  son  of  Governor  Winslow, 
born  in  1671,  was  eminently  distinguished,  having  sus- 
tained the  chief  places  of  power  and  honor  in  the  colony, 
as  chief  military  commander  under  the  governor,  and  for 
several  years  Chief  Justice  of  the  Inferior  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas,  Judge  of  Probate  of  Wills,  and  one  of  his 
Majesty's  Council  for  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay, 
for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  for  several  years  Presi- 
dent of  that  body.  This  gentleman  possessed  a  truly 
noble  spirit,  was  much  given  to  hospitality,  and  univer- 


*  She  died,  in  1703,  aged  73.  A  late  tourist  into  the  Old  Colony,  describes 
his  visit  to  the  seat  of  Mr.  Winslow's  family,  in  Marshfield,  and  to  other  mem- 
orable places,  in  that  vicinity,  in  a  manner  that  is  creditable  to  his  taste  and 
feeling.  Speaking  of  the  family  portraits,  that  of  Josias  Winslow,  he  says,  is 
"evidently  by  the  hand  of  a  master,  and  his  beautiful  bride  makes  one  of  the 
group.  She  appears  about  twenty,  and  her  costume  is  more  modern  than  that 
given  to  other  females  of  that  period,  of  greater  age.  Her  head-dress  is  of 
great  simplicity.  The  hair  parted  on  the  top,  and  falling  in  ringlets  on  each 
side  of  her  temples  and  neck ;  the  countenance  bespeaks  gentleness  and  intel- 
ligence." [Alden  Bradford,  in  Boston  Commercial  Gazette,  9th  November, 
1826.]  The  Winslow  portraits  are  now  in  the  cabinet  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society, 


198  JOSIAS    WINSLOW. 

sally  beloved.     He  died  at  his  seat  in  Marshfield,  De- 
cember, 1738,  in  the  68th  year  of  his  age. 

His  eldest  son,  a  young  gentleman  of  great  promise, 
by  the  name  of  Josiah,  engaged  in  military  service,  re- 
ceived a  captain's  commission,  and  was  killed  in  battle, 
with  thirteen  of  his  company,  after  a  most  gallant  resist- 
ance against  a  superior  force  of  French  and  Indians,  in 
the  war  of  1724. 

General  John  Winslow,  the  eldest  of  the  surviving 
sons  of  Isaac,  was  a  distinguished  and  successful  com- 
mander. In  1740,  he  commanded  a  company  in  the  ex- 
pedition against  Cuba,  and  afterwards  rose  to  the  rank  of 
Major  General  in  the  British  service. 

In  1755,  an  expedition  against  Nova  Scotia  was  un- 
dertaken by  the  British  Government.  The  boundaries 
were  unsettled — the  English  claiming  to  the  St.  Lawrence, 
the  French  restricting  them  to  the  peninsula  of  Acadia. 
The  French  were  in  the  occupancy  of  the  disputed  ter- 
ritory, and  had  erected  forts  to  defend  it.  To  dispossess 
them,  was  the  object  of  the  expedition,  which  was  placed 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Monckton.  The  troops, 
which  were  mostly  drawn  from  Massachusetts,  were 
placed  under  the  immediate  command  of  Lieutenant  Col- 
onel John  Winslow,  through  whose  personal  influence 
and  exertions  nearly  two  thousand  men  had  been  raised 
for  the  expedition.  He  conducted  the  campaign  with 
great  skill.  The  two  French  forts  were  captured,  with 
scarcely  any  loss  on  the  part  of  the  conquerors,  and  the 
whole  Province  completely  reduced,  chiefly  through  the 
enterprise  and  good  conduct  of  Colonel  Winslow.  To 
him  was  also  entrusted  the  difficult  and  ungrateful  task 
of  removing  the  French  neutrals,  who  were  all  expelled 


JOSIAS   WINSLOW.  199 

from  Nova  Scotia.  Previous  to  commencing  the  cam- 
paign of  1756,  against  Crown  Point,  General  Abercrom- 
bie  sent  for  General  Winslow,  and  to  him  was  to  have 
been  entrusted  an  attack  on  Ticonderoga,  which  was  sus- 
pended by  orders  from  Lord  Loudon,  in  consequence  of 
the  disaster  at  Oswego.  In  1756,  he  commanded  at  Fort 
William  Henry,  on  Lake  George.  He  was  also  a  coun- 
sellor of  the  Province.  He  died  at  Marshfield  in  1774, 
at  the  age  of  73.* 

General  John  Winslow  left  two  sons,  Pelham  and 
Isaac.  Pelham  was  an  attorney  at  law  and  a  leading 
citizen  in  Plymouth,  but  being  a  loyalist,  became  obnox- 
ious to  popular  resentment,  and  found  it  necessary  to 
resort  for  safety  to  the  British  camp.  He  joined  the  Brit- 
ish army  soon  after  the  battle  of  Lexington,  received  a 
major's  commission,  was  soon  after  appointed  a  commis- 
sary, and  after  continuing  some  years  with  the  troops  in 
New  York,  died  at  Flushing,  Long  Island,  in  1783.  His 
widow,  originally  Joanna  White  of  Marshfield,  returned 
to  and  died  at  Plymouth,  May  1,  1829,  aged  84. 

Isaac  was  of  the  medical  profession,  and  resided  on 
the  paternal  estate  at  Marshfield,  where  he  died  in  1819, 
aged  81  years.  He  married  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Stock- 
bridge  of  Scituate.     His  only  son  John,  an  eminent  law- 

*  Gen.  Winslow  was  remarkable  for  his  skill  in  horsemanship.  He  im- 
ported a  valuable  horse  from  England,  and  it  was  among  his  greatest  delights 
to  be  mounted  on  his  favorite  animal.  On  a  certain  occasion,  a  number  of  gen- 
tlemen of  Plymouth  formed  a  party  with  Gen.  Winslow,  for  a  pleasure  excur- 
sion to  Saquish,  in  Plymouth  harbor,  and  to  return  to  dine  in  town.  While 
there,  Winslow  fell  asleep ;  the  other  gentlemen  silently  withdrew,  and  pur- 
sued their  journey.  When  he  awoke  and  found  himself  deserted,  he  mounted, 
and  daringly  plunged  his  steed  into  the  channel,  swam  him  across,  more  than 
half  a  mile,  from  whence  he  rode  into  town,  making  the  whole  distance  but  six 
miles,  while  his  companions  were  riding  fourteen  miles.  On  their  arrival,  they 
were  astonished  to  find  the  General  seated  in  the  tavern,  prepared  to  greet  them 
with  a  bowl  of  punch.    Thacher,  142. 


200  JOSIAS    WINSLOW. 

yer,  died  at  Natches,  Mississippi,  in  1820,  where  he  had 
removed  on  account  of  his  health. 

Edward,  the  younger  brother  of  General  John  Wins- 
low,  was  an  accomplished  scholar,  and  a  gentleman  of 
fine  taste.  He  resided  in  Plymouth,  and  together  with 
his  son,  filled  the  offices  of  clerk  of  the  court,  Register 
of  Probate  and  collector  of  the  port.  Being  a  professed 
royalist,  he  removed  to  Halifax  with  his  family,  soon  after 
the  commencement  of  hostilities,  where  he  died,  June  8, 
1784,  aged  72  years.  The  ceremonies  at  his  funeral 
were  in  a  style  to  confer  the  highest  honor  and  respect 
on  his  memory.  In  consequence  of  his  removal,  his 
estate  in  his  native  town  was  confiscated,  but  every  branch 
of  his  family  was  by  the  British  Government  amply  pro- 
vided for  during  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  His  son, 
Edward  Winslow,  Jr.,  was  also  an  intelligent  and  accom- 
plished gentleman;  he  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in 
1765.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  and  most  active 
members  of  the  Old  Colony  Club,  and  his  address  on  the 
22d  of  December,  1770,  was  the  first  ever  delivered  on 
the  Pilgrim  anniversary.  Being  friendly  to  the  royal 
cause,  he  joined  the  British  at  Boston  before  the  war 
commenced,  and  was  afterwards  appointed  a  Colonel  in 
their  service.  He  subsequently  filled  the  offices  of  King's 
Counsellor,  and  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  New 
Brunswick,  and  died  at  Frederickton,  in  May,  1815, 
aged  70.* 

*  There  are  yet  in  existence  some  relics  belonging  to  the  Winslow  family. 
A  sitting  chair  which  was  screwed  to  the  floor  of  the  cabin  of  the  Mayflower ; 
for  the  convenience  of  a  lady :  it  is  known  to  have  been  in  the  possession  of 
Penelope  Winslow,  who  married  James  Warren.  This  chair  is  now  in  posses- 
sion of  a  direct  descendant  from  Peregrine  White.  A  watch  purse,  composed 
of  small  beads,  which  was  made  by  Penelope  Pelham,  while  on  her  voyage  to 
America.  A  curious  ring,  which  contains  the  hair  of  governor  Winslow  ;  and 
a  pearl  spoon.     Thacher,  144. 


201 


VI:    THOMAS   HINCKLEY. 

The  family  of  Hinckley  was  originally  from  the 
county  of  Kent,  in  England.  At  a  small  parish  in  that 
county,  called  Egerton,  John  Lothrop,  the  pastor  of  the 
church,  had  embraced  the  faith  of  the  puritans,  and  in 
1623,  renounced  his  orders  in  the  church  of  England, 
and  removed  to  London.  He  was  followed  by  some  of 
his  parishioners,  amongst  whom  was  Samuel  Hinckley, 
the  father  of  Governor  Hinckley.  Mr.  Lothrop,  in  1624, 
became  the  second  pastor  of  the  first  congregational 
church  gathered  in  London,  on  the  plan  of  that  of  Mr. 
Robinson,  at  Leyden.  The  church  held  their  meetings 
privately,  and  escaped  the  vigilance  of  their  persecutors 
for  some  time;  but  at  length,  in  April,  1632,  they  were 
discovered  by  the  pursuivant  of  the  Archbishop,  holding 
a  meeting  for  religious  worship  at  a  house  in  Blackfriars. 
Forty-two  of  them  were  apprehended,  and  eighteen  only 
escaped.  Mr.  Lothrop,  with  twenty-four  others  of  his 
congregation,  were  imprisoned  for  about  two  years, 
when  all  but  himself  were  released  upon  bail.  Arch- 
bishop Laud  obstinately  refusing  to  pay  any  attention  to 
his  requests,  Mr.  Lothrop  petitioned  King  Charles  I., 
and  was  set  at  liberty,  in  April,  1634,  on  the  condition 
offered,  which  he  readily  embraced,  of  departing  from 
the  kingdom.  He  now  embarked  for  Boston,  with 
about  thirty  of  his  church  and  people,  where  he  arrived 
September  18,  1634,  in  the  ship  Griffin.  On  the  27th 
of  the  same  month,  he  proceeded,  with  his  friends,  to 
Scituate,  where  a  considerable  settlement  had  already 
26 


202  THOMAS    HINCKLEY. 

been  made  by  "  the  men  of  Kent/'  who  gladly  received 
Mr.  Lothrop  as  a  former  acquaintance.* 

Mr.  Hinckley  was  one  of  those  who  accompanied 
Mr.  Lothrop  to  Boston,  and  settled  at  Scituate.  He 
was  admitted  a  freeman  in  1637,  and  in  1639  removed 
to  Barnstable.  Some  of  the  first  settlers  of  Scituate  and 
Barnstable,  were  men  of  education  and  easy  fortune,  who 
had  left  homes  altogether  enviable,  save  in  the  single  cir- 
cumstance of  the  abridgment  of  their  religious  liberty. 
The  "men  of  Kent,"  are  duly  celebrated  in  English  his- 
tory, as  men  of  gallantry,  loyalty  and  courtly  manners. 
Vassall,  Hatherly,  Cudworth,  Tilden,  Hinckley,  and  oth- 
ers had  been  accustomed  to  the  elegances  of  life  in  Eng- 
land. They  were  men  eminently  qualified  for  transact- 
ing not  only  the  municipal  concerns  of  their  settlements, 
but  for  taking  an  active  and  leading  part  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  colony. 

Thomas  Hinckley  was  born  in  1621,  and  came  to 
New  England  soon  after  his  father  had  made  a  settle- 
ment at  Barnstable.  The  mere  recital  of  the  various 
public  duties  he  was  called  upon  to  perform,  some  of 
which  were  the  most  arduous  and  responsible,  as  well  as 
the  highest  in  the  government,  is  sufficient  to  shew  that 
he  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  ability  and  influence. 

*  Mr.  Lothrop  was  educated  at  Oxford,  as  appears  from  Wood's  Athenas 
Oxonicnses.  Morton  says,  "  lie  was  a  man  of  a  humble  spirit,  lively  in  dispen- 
sation of  the  word  of  God,  studious  of  peace,  willing  to  spend  and  be  spent  for 
the  cause  and  church  of  Christ."  He  was  twice  married.  Four  sons  came  with 
him  from  England :  Thomas,  who  settled  at  Eastham,  where  his  son  Thomas 
was  born  in  1640,  then  at  Barnstable;  Samuel,  at  Norwich,  or  New  London, 
Conn.;  Joseph,  at  Barnstable;  and  Benjamin  at  Charlestown,  Mass.  Barna- 
bas, and  John,  were  born  in  this  country,  and  settled  at  Barnstable.  The  Rev. 
Mr.  Lothrop  died  in  Barnstable,  8  Nov.,  1653.  His  descendants  are  numerous. 
Mr.  John  Lothrop,  of  Boston,  who  wrote  the  memoir  of  the  minister  of  Barn- 
stable, published  in  II  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  i.  163,  was  a  descendant. 


THOMAS    HINCKLEY.  203 

In  1645,  he  was  first  elected  a  deputy  from  Barn- 
stable, and  he  was  again  elected  in  1648,  and  at  several 
subsequent  periods.  In  1658,  when  Mr.  Cudworth, 
and  Mr.  Hatherly,  two  of  the  most  excellent  men  in  the 
colony,  were  proscribed  and  driven  from  office,  on  ac- 
count of  their  opposition  to  the  rash  measures  against 
the  Quakers,  Mr.  Hinckley,  falling  into  the  popular  cur- 
rent, was  chosen  one  of  the  assistants,  and  continued  in 
that  office  by  successive  re-elections  until  the  year  1681. 
At  the  election  in  1680,  Mr.  Hinckley  was  specially 
designated  as  deputy  governor,  in  consequence  of  the 
ill  health  of  governor  Winslow,  whose  death  was  appre- 
hended, and  the  extreme  age  of  Mr.  Alden,*  who,  as 
first  assistant,  would  have  succeeded  to  the  chair,  when 
vacant.  In  June,  1681,  following  the  death  of  Josias 
Winslow,  Mr.  Hinckley  was  chosen  governor,  in  which 
office  (excepting  for  the  short  period  of  the  rule  of  An- 
dros,  when  he  was  a  counsellor, )  he  was  continued  until 
the  separate  existence  of  the  colony  of  New  Plymouth 
was  terminated  by  its  incorporation  with  Massachusetts, 
under  the  charter  of  1692.  Upon  that  event,  he  was 
named  one  of  the  counsellors  of  the  province  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  under  the  new  charter. 

The  people  of  New  Plymouth  had  for  many  years 
been  anxious  on  the  subject  of  obtaining  a  charter  from 
the  crown,  similar  to  that  of  Connecticut.  They  held 
only  under  their  patent  from  the  Council  of  Plymouth? 

*  John  Alden  was  one  of  the  pilgrims  of  the  Mayflower;  settled  at  Dux- 
bury  in  1640;  was  representative,  1641  to  1649;  an  assistant  of  the  colony 
under  every  administration,  except  that  of  Governor  Carver — in  all,  42  years. 
He  married  Priscilla,  daughter  of  William  Mullins,  by  whom  he  had  eight  chil- 
dren. He  died  12  September,  1GS7,  aged  89.  A  memoir,  written  by  President 
Alden,  one  of  his  descendants,  is  contained  in  Aldcn's  American  Epitaphs,  iii. 
264. 


204  THOMAS    HINCKLEY. 

which  had  no  powers  of  sovereignty,  and  which  had  long 
since  ceased  to  exist.  They  had  all  along  felt  that  they 
were  at  the  mercy  of  the  King,  who  might,  at  any  time, 
justify  the  dissolution  of  their  charter,  under  the  forms 
of  his  prerogative.  They  had  consequently  adopted  a 
course  of  policy,  which  was  designed  to  propitiate,  as  far 
as  possible,  the  royal  favor,  and  had  received  frequent 
assurances  from  Charles  the  Second,  that  a  charter  should 
be  granted. 

The   perils   of  the   Indian   war   had   been   scarcely 
passed  through,  leaving  the  colony  comparatively  weak, 
when  dangers  of  another  character  began  to  menace  its 
existence.     Massachusetts  on  the  one  hand,  and  New 
York  on  the  other,  were  intriguing  for  the  appropriation 
of  New  Plymouth  to  themselves.     The  former  colony 
had  on  more  than  one  occasion  shown  a  disposition  to 
extend  her  borders.     The  conquered  country  of  Mount 
Hope,  was  originally  included  within  the  limits  of  the 
Plymouth  jurisdiction ;  and  notwithstanding  its  complete 
separation  from  Massachusetts  and  contiguity  to  Ply- 
mouth ;  notwithstanding  it  had  been  conquered  princi- 
pally by  the  prowess  of  the  people  of  this  little  colony, 
the  government  of  Massachusetts  endeavoured  to  wrest 
it  from  them,  and  to  obtain  a  grant  of  its  lands  from  the 
King.     Rhode  Island,  too,  which  had  not  even  participa- 
ted in  the  war,  preferred  a  claim  to  the  lands ;  and  John 
Crown,  of  Nova  Scotia,  alledging  an  obsolete  claim  of  his 
father  on  the  bounty  of  the  King,  nearly  succeeded  in 
obtaining  the  patent ;  but  the  monarch  finally  granted  the 
lands  to  Plymouth.     This  was  the  only  royal  grant  made 
in  New  England  of  lands  conquered  from  the  Indians, 
and  was  made  in  consequence  of  these  conflicting  claims. 


THOMAS    HINCKLEY.  205 

In  the  controversy  about  Mount  Hope,  Governor 
Winslow,  at  the  close  of  his  administration,  had  found  it 
expedient  to  cultivate  the  friendship  of  Edward  Ran- 
dolph, afterwards  so  odious  throughout  New  England  as 
the  tool  of  Andros,  and  who  had  already  obtained  an  un- 
enviable notoriety  in  Massachusetts.*  Governor  Hinck- 
ley, well  aware  of  the  tortuous  paths  which  marked  all 
approaches  to  the  royal  ear,  also  kept  up  a  good  under- 
standing with  Randolph,  who  engaged  to  do  every  thing 
in  his  power  to  obtain  the  charter. 

In  September,  1681,  General  Cudworth  was  sent  to 
England,  as  the  agent  for  the  colony.  But  dying  not  long 
after  his  arrival,  he  effected  nothing,  and  his  papers  were 
lost.  The  royal  displeasure  was  now  manifested  against 
Massachusetts ;  the  quo  warranto  had  issued  against  that 
colony;  and  the  people  of  Plymouth  were  more  than 
ever  in  suspense  between  their  hopes  and  fears.  They 
had  already  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  people  of 
Massachusetts,  by  what  was  looked  upon  as  a  timid  and 
time-serving  policy ;  and  now,  they  were  threatened  with 
the  mortification  of  finding  all  their  professions  of  loyalty 
disregarded  by  the  King,  whose  favor  they  had  been  so 
anxious  to  secure.  Mr.  Blaithwait,  of  the  Plantation 
Office  in  London,  on  the  27th  September,  1683,  address- 

*  Randolph,  in  a  letter  dated  29  Jan.,  1680,  to  Governor  Winslow,  says— 
"I  am  received  at  Boston  more  like  a  spy,  than  one  of  his  majesty's  servants. 
They  kept  a  day  of  thanks  for  the  return  of  their  agents;  but  have  prepared  a 
welcome  for  me,  by  a  paper  of  scandalous  verses,  all  persons  taking  liberty  to 
abuse  me  in  their  discourses,  of  which  I  take  the  more  notice,  because  it  so 
much  reflects  upon  my  master,  who  will  not  forget  it."  The  "scandalous  ver- 
ses," to  which  Randolph  alludes,  are  to  be  found  in  Farmer  and  Moore's  Hist. 
Coll.,  iii.  30.  Randolph  was  the  most  inveterate  and  indefatigable  of  those  in- 
triguing men  who  found  access  to  the  royal  ear  of  Charles  II.,  with  complaints 
against  the  colonies.  On  this  mischievous  business,  he  made  no  less  than  eight 
voyages  in  nine  years  across  the  Atlantic.     He  died  in  the  West  Indies. 


206  THOMAS    HINCKLEY. 

ed  Governor  Hinckley,  as  follows :  "  I  must  deal  plainly 
with  you.  It  is  not  probable  anything  will  be  determined 
in  that  behalf  until  his  majesty  do  see  an  issue  of  pro- 
ceeding in  relation  to  the  Massachusetts  colony,  and  that 
upon  regulating  their  charter,  that  colony  be  brought 
under  such  actual  dependence  upon  the  crown  as  becomes 
his  majesty's  subjects.  From  hence  it  will  be,  that  your 
patent  will  receive  its  model;  and  although  you  may  be 
assured  of  all  you  desire,  yet  it  will  be  expected  that,  in 
acknowledgment  of  so  great  favors,  such  provisions  may 
be  inserted  as  are  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  his 
majesty's  authority." 

Anxious,  if  possible,  to  keep  alive  an  interest  in  the 
royal  bosom,  the  general  court,  in  November,  1683,  for- 
warded another  address,  wherein  they  congratulated  his 
Majesty  upon  his  deliverance,  in  answer  to  their  prayers 
they  hoped,  from  the  late  horrid  conspiracy;  and  they 
had  appointed  the  fifteenth  instant  for  a  day  of  solemn 
thanksgiving,  for  the  salvation  of  his  Majesty's  royal  per- 
son from  that  and  other  hellish  conspiracies.*  They  go 
on  to  pray  his  Majesty's  favor  in  granting  them  a  char- 
ter, having  sent  over  a  true  copy  of  their  patent  from  the 
council  of  Plymouth.  Randolph  writes  to  the  governor 
of  Plymouth,  the  fourth  of  March  following,  that  he  had 
presented  the  address  with  the  necessary  amendments,  to 
his  Majesty  in  council,  that  it  would  be  printed,  was  gra- 
ciously received,  and  that  they  would  find  the  benefit  of 
it,  in  the  settlement  of  their  affairs.  Upon  the  death  of 
Charles  II.,  they  were  distinguished  by  James  II.,  from 

*  Reference  is  here  made,  probably,  to  the  attempt  to  assassinate  Charles  II., 
at  the  Rye  House  Farm,  near  Hoddesdon,  in  Hertfordshire,  on  his  way  from 
Newmarket,  called  the  Rye  House  Plot. 


THOMAS    HINCKLEY.  207 

the  other  colonies,  by  a  letter  under  his  sign  manual,  (26 
June,  1685,)  acquainting  them  with  his  accession  to  the 
throne,  the  great  things  the  parliament  had  done,  the  de- 
feat of  Argyle,  and  the  landing  at  Monmouth,  and  the  care 
taken  to  prevent  his  success ;  all  to  prevent  any  false  and 
malicious  rumors  that  might  be  spread  among  his  Majes- 
ty's subjects  at  that  distance.  An  address  was  sent  to 
the  King,  upon  his  accession,  taking  notice  of  the  assur- 
ances they  had  received  from  his  royal  brother,  and 
praying  that  his  Majesty  might  fulfil  them.  This  was 
their  last  effort,*  prior  to  the  revolution  of  1689. 

Governor  Hinckley  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  efforts 
of  the  Society  for  propagating  the  Gospel  among  the  In- 
dians. The  labors  of  Eliot  and  the  Mayhews  had  pro- 
duced good  fruits,  and  it  appears  from  a  statement  drawn 
up  in  1685,  by  Governor  Hinckley,  that  the  number  of 
christianized  Indians  in  the  colony  had  increased. f  The 
duties  which  this  new  relation  of  christian  amity  between 
the  natives  and  the  English,  imposed  upon  the  govern- 
ment, were  sometimes  onerous.  Governor  Hinckley,  in 
the  statement  above  referred  to,  says — "Their  manner  is 
not  to  accept  any  to  be  praying  Indians  or  Christians, 
but  such  as  do,  before  some  of  their  magistrates  or  civil 
rulers,  renounce  their  former  heathenish  manners,  and 
give  up  themselves  to  be  praying  Indians;  neither  do 
they  choose  any  other  than  such  to  bear  any  office 
among  them.  They  keep  their  courts  in  several  places, 
living  so  far  distant  one  from  another.     Especially  the 

*  Hutchinson's  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  344. 

t  According  to  the  statement  forwarded  by  Governor  Hinckley  to  the  cor- 
poration in  England,  there  were  at  this  time  in  the  colony  1439  praying  or 
christian  Indians,  besides  boys  and  girls,  under  twelve  years  of  age,  which 
were  supposed  to  be  more  than  three  times  that  number. 


208  THOMAS    HINCKLEY. 

four  chief  places  often  desire  my  help  amongst  them,  at 
their  courts,  and  often  do  appeal  from  the  sentence  of 
the  Indian  Judges  to  my  determination,  in  which  they 
quietly  rest,  whereby  I  have  much  trouble  and  expense  of 
time  among  them,  but  if  God  please  to  bless  my  endea- 
vours to  bring  them  to  more  civility  and  Christianity,  I 
shall  account  my  time  and  pains  well  spent.  A  great 
obstruction  whereunto  is  the  great  appetite  many  of  the 
young  generation  have  after  strong  liquors,  and  the  cov- 
etous evil  humor  of  sundry  of  our  English,  in  furnishing 
them  therewith,  notwithstanding  all  the  court  orders  and 
means  used  to  prohibit  the  same."* 

Governor  Hinckley,  in  his  religious  views,  more  close- 
ly resembled  the  rigid  Governor  Prence,  than  the  tolerant 
Winslow.f  While  a  deputy,  a  law  was  passed,  at  his 
instance,  and  for  that  reason  sometimes  called  "  Hinck- 
ley's law,"  which  provided,  "  that  if  any  neglect  the  wor- 
ship of  God  in  the  place  where  he  lives,  and  set  up  a 
worship  contrary  to  God,  and  the  allowances  of  this  Gov- 
ernment, to  the  publick  profanation  of  God's  Holy  Day, 
and  ordinances,  he  shall  pay  10  shillings."  When  the 
Quakers  made  their  appearance  in  New  Plymouth,  it 
was  attempted  to  enforce  the  penalty  of  this  law ;  but  the 
attempt  failed,  "  because  the  offender  must  do  all  things 
therein  named,  or  else  break  not  the  law."  General  Cud- 
worth  states  the  curious  fact,  that  in  March,  1658,  a 
court  of  deputies  was  called,  when,  after  passing  sundry 
acts  touching  the  Quakers,  they  contrived  to  make  this 

*  Hinckley  Papers,  Lib.  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  In  Davis'  Morton,  407—415,  is 
an  interesting  memoir  of  the  situation  and  number  of  the  Christian  Indians, 
at  that  period  in  Massachusetts  and  New  Plymouth  colonies. 

i  Randolph,  in  a  letter  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  dated  27  October, 
1686,  characterises  Governor  Hinckley  as  "a  rigid  independent." 


THOMAS    HINCKLEY.  209 

act  serviceable,  by  erasing  the  word  "  and"  in  the  act, 
and  inserting  the  word  "or,"  which,  being  disjunctive, 
made  every  branch  a  law.  The  alteration,  (says  Cud- 
worth,)  though  made  in  1658,  stands  upon  the  record 
as  the  act  of  1651,  and  was  enforced  to  the  letter  against 
the  Quakers.* 

When  Mr.  Hinckley  came  to  the  government  of  the 
colony,  he  endeavored  to  carry  out  the  policy  of  sus- 
taining and  extending  a  system  of  free  schools,  which  he 
had  advocated  in  the  council  of  assistants,  as  well  as  to 
secure  a  competent  support  for  the  ministers  of  religion, 
then  much  neglected.  When  the  first  school  was  estab- 
lished by  law  in  Plymouth  in  1672,  Mr.  Hinckley  had 
been  appointed  steward  of  the  income  set  apart  for  its 
support,  and  had  remained  its  faithful  and  consistent 
champion. 

Prior  to  the  year  1677,  there  was  no  law  compelling 
the  people  to  contribute  for  the  support  of  public  wor- 
ship. There  had  been  no  occasion  for  one.  The  people 
were  as  much  devoted  to  religion  as  their  ministers ;  but 
as  the  ministers  in  a  manner  monopolized  the  learning 
of  the  colony,  much  of  their  time  was  employed  in  sec- 
ular affairs,  and  they  were  possessed  of  a  leading  influ- 
ence in  the  colony,  and  had  sometimes  consented  to  act 
as  public  officers. 

Whatever  was  bestowed  upon  them  was  by  volunta- 
ry donation ;  but  as  the  colony  increased  in  population, 
and  new  avocations  engaged  the  attention  of  the  people, 
they  neglected  the  support  of  their  teachers.  New  plan- 
tations also  had  been  commenced,  in  which  the  poverty 
of  the  people  afforded  a  plausible  excuse  for  this  neglect. 

*  See  Cud  worth's  Letter,  in  Deane's  Scituate,  247. 

27 


210  THOMAS    HINCKLEY. 

Many  came  into  the  settlement,  who  voted  in  all  secular 
affairs,  and  who  felt  but  little  interest  in  supporting  pub- 
lic worship. 

The  government  of  New  Plymouth  now  saw  or  ima- 
gined, a  necessity  for  enforcing  the  support  of  religion 
by  law.  Mr.  Hinckley  was  an  earnest  and  influential  ad- 
vocate of  this  policy.  An  act  was  passed  in  1677,  pro- 
viding for  a  tax  upon  the  people  for  the  support  of  their 
ordained  ministers,  and  in  the  following  year  another  act 
was  passed,  requiring  each  town  and  village  in  the  colo- 
ny, to  erect,  finish,  and  keep  in  repair  a  house  for  pub- 
lic worship. 

The  law  required  that  all  taxable  persons,  irrespective 
of  their  particular  faith  or  belief,  should  contribute  to  the 
support  of  the  regular  congregational  ministry ;  and 
though  it  was  much  complained  of,  Governor  Hinckley 
insisted  on  the  enforcement  of  its  provisions  against  the 
Quakers,  who  were  the  most  numerous  and  wealthy  of 
the  dissenting  sects.  After  Dudley's  short  rule  com- 
menced in  1686,  the  Quakers  complained  of  the  ex- 
action, as  contrary  to  the  King's  design  of  universal 
toleration.  Dudley's  commission  did  not  include  New 
Plymouth,  but  Randolph,  in  a  letter  to  Governor  Hinck- 
ley, dated  22  June,  1686,  undertakes  to  admonish  the 
latter  in  the  following  terms : — "  Perhaps  it  will  be  as 
reasonable  to  move  that  your  colony  should  be  rated 
to  pay  our  minister  of  the  church  of  England,  who 
now  preaches  in  Boston,  and  you  hear  him  not,  as  to 
make  the  Quakers  pay  in  your  colony."*  Governor 
Hinckley  complained  of  this  as  a  great  grievance,  and 
contended  that  if  the  government  was  refused  the  right 

*  Hutchinson's  Hist.  Colony  of  Mass.  357. 


THOMAS    HINCKLEY.  211 

to  lay  taxes,  for  the  support  of  the  ministry,  the  people 
would  sink  into  barbarism.  He  knew  that  the  puritans 
had  now  nothing  to  hope,  but  much  to  fear  from  the  im- 
position of  new  laws  by  King  James.  He  believed,  as 
did  most  of  the  people  of  New  Plymouth,  that  though 
it  was  pretended  that  the  King  was  about  to  allow  a  uni- 
versal toleration,  it  was  only  the  prelude  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  popery,  and  the  imposition  of  grievous  burthens 
upon  the  protestants.  He  continued,  as  heretofore,  to 
enforce  the  collection  of  the  tax  for  the  clergy,  until  An- 
dros,  in  March,  1687,  sent  him  the  following  instruc- 
tions:— "I  am  very  much  surprised  you  should  issue 
forth  so  extraordinary  a  warrant  as  is  now  brought  to 
me,  under  your  hand  and  seal,  dated  the  12th  of  De- 
cember past,  so  much  mistaken  and  assuming  (for  pay- 
ment of  your  minister)  extrajudicially  to  command  dis- 
tress to  be  made  on  the  goods  of  his  Majesty's  subjects. 
Out  of  respect  to  you,  I  have  put  a  stop  to  the  execution 
thereof,  that  neither  the  constable  nor  you  may  be  ex- 
posed. Hoping  you  will  be  mindful  of  the  station  you 
are  in,  for  his  Majesty's  service  and  the  quiet  of  his  sub- 
jects, that  they  be  not  amused  nor  troubled  by  mistaken 
notions,  or  clandestine  illegal  practices,"  &c. 

The  despotic  rule  of  Andros  had  now  commenced. 
Plymouth  had  no  charter  to  surrender,  but  the  govern- 
ment was  changed,  and  the  colony  was  allowed  no  other 
voice  in  public  affairs,  than  the  votes  of  the  seven  men 
whom  Andros  had  selected  to  be  of  his  council.  Gov- 
ernor Hinckley,  although  he  had  experienced  rude  treat- 
ment from  Andros,  accepted  a  seat  in  his  council. 

King  James  the  Second  came  to  the  throne  in  Febru- 
rary,  1685,  and  was  proclaimed  at  Plymouth  in  April. 


212  THOMAS    HINCKLEY. 

He  determined  to  consolidate  the  governments  in  New 
England  into  one.  Dudley,  while  the  scheme  was  per- 
fecting, was  commissioned  temporarily  as  president  of 
New  England.  But  the  royal  grasp  did  not  at  first  take  in 
all  of  the  colonies.  New  Plymouth  and  Connecticut 
were  left  out  of  the  commission;  until  the  appointment  of 
Andros,  in  June,  1686,  whose  commission  included  all 
New  England,  excepting  Connecticut,  and  of  their  char- 
ter he  was  subsequently  authorized  to  receive  the  sur- 
render. 

Being  without  a  charter,  the  government  of  Ply- 
mouth, having  distinguished  itself  for  loyalty,  could  now 
offer  no  resistance,  and  at  once  acknowledged  and  endea- 
vored to  make  the  best  of  the  rule  of  Anclros.  Seven 
persons  were  selected  from  the  colony  of  New  Ply- 
mouth to  be  of  the  council  of  Andros,  Governor  Hinckley 
being  the  first  named  upon  the  list.  For  a  time,  Mr. 
Hinckley,  acted  as  a  judge  of  the  prerogative  court  in 
Plymouth,  established  by  Andros;  but  the  governor  as 
far  as  possible  exercised  the  supreme  power,  civil  and 
judicial,  and  tolerated  no  man  in  office,  who  was  not  his 
ready  and  willing  instrument. 

Some  writers  have  considered  it  a  stain  upon  the 
character  of  Governor  Hinckley,  that  he  consented  to 
accept  office  under  Andros.  Baylies  says,  "  the  reader 
who  reflects  upon  the  transactions  of  that  day  in  the 
pilgrim  colony,  cannot  but  think  that  when  Governor 
Hinckley  consented  to  act  as  a  counsellor  to  Andros,  he 
fell  from  his  elevation,  and  the  brightness  of  his  charac- 
ter was  dimmed.  When  the  government  of  any  country 
is  thrown  into  such  hands,  it  is  the  wisest  and  best 
policy  to  retire  to  that  station  which  then  emphatically 


THOMAS    HINCKLEY.  213 

becomes  the  post  of  honor.  It  is  true  that  Governor 
Hinckley  went  far  to  redeem  his  character  eventually, 
by  his  manly  resistance  to  the  tyranny  of  Andros,  but  it 
would  have  been  better,  both  for  his  own  reputation  and 
the  public  good,  had  he  never  consented,  by  acting  as  his 
counsellor,  to  have  swelled  the  vanity  of  a  petty  despot, 
and  to  have  lent  for  a  time  the  sanction  of  his  high  char- 
acter to  lessen  the  odium  of  measures  which  soon  be- 
came intolerable."  "We  regret  to  find,  (says  Judge 
Davis,)  that  Governor  Hinckley  accepted  a  seat  in  the 
council,  which  suspended  the  ancient  authorities  of  the 
country,  and  authorized  or  countenanced  a  course  of 
arbitrary,  vexatious,  and  oppressive  proceedings. — It 
should  be  observed,  however,  that  many  of  this  council 
were  sincere  well  wishers  to  their  country,  and  accepted 
a  seat  at  the  board,  with  a  view  of  preventing  injurious 
measures." 

If  the  subsequent  acts  of  Mr.  Hinckley,  while  of  the 
council  of  Andros,  are  closely  scanned,  they  will  sustain 
the  most  favorable  construction  which  has  been  placed 
upon  his  conduct.  The  colony  possessed  no  charter; 
their  affairs  had  been  conducted  under  a  constitution  of 
their  own,  democratic  in  its  forms  and  administration ; 
the  people  professing  loyalty  to  the  crown  which  had 
suffered  them  to  enjoy  their  privileges.  But  they  now 
saw  that  they  were  at  the  mercy  of  one  of  the  most  des- 
potic monarchs  who  ever  filled  the  British  throne — and 
it  may  well  be  conceived,  that  the  object  of  Governor 
Hinckley  might  have  been  to  watch  over  the  interests  of 
the  colony,  as  far  as  it  was  possible  for  him  to  do.  He 
did  not  consent  to  the  measures  of  Andros,  and  very 
seldom  attended  the  meetings  of  the  council,  after  the 


214  THOMAS    HINCKLEY. 

first.  This  was  also  the  case  with  William  Bradford, 
Barnabas  Lothrop,  and  John  W  alley,  who  were  coun- 
sellors with  him  from  Plymouth  Colony.*  They  never 
attended  more  than  one  or  two  of  the  meetings.  Most 
of  the  counsellors  of  Massachusetts  also  absented  them- 
selves, as  they  did  not  approve  of  the  conduct  of  Gover- 
nor Andros.  It  appears  from  documents  which  remain, 
that  Governor  Hinckley  was  decidedly  opposed  to  the 
exceptionable  proceedings  of  Andros  and  his  adherents. 
In  his  letter  to  Mr.  Blaithwait  of  the  Plantation  office, 
dated  June  28,  1687,  there  is  a  full  and  free  expression 
of  the  many  grievances  which  the  colony  suffered  under 
Sir  Edmund  Andros'  administration.  A  petition  to  the 
King,  on  the  same  subject,  in  October  of  that  year,  is 
more  minute  and  emphatic.  It  is  signed,  "Thomas 
Hinckley,  in  behalf  of  your  Majesty's  most  ancient  and 
loyal  Colony  of  New  Plymouth  in  New  England." — In 
reference  to  the  new  patents  and  grants,  which  they  were 
compelled  to  take  for  their  lands,  fairly  acquired,  and  so 
long  peaceably  possessed,  it  is  observed,  that  all  the 
money  left  in  the  colony,  would  scarcely  suffice  "to  pay 
one  half  the  charge  for  warrants,  surveying  and  patents, 
if  every  one  must  be  forced  thereto."     The  whole  course 

*  Of  Deputy  Governor  Bradford,  a  notice  has  already  been  given,  in  page 
88  of  this  volume.  Barnabas  Lothrop  was  son  of  the  Rev.  John  Lothrop,  set- 
tled at  Barnstable,  was  a  deputy  six  years,  and  an  assistant  in  1681.  He  died 
in  1715,  aged  79.  John  Walley  was  of  Boston  in  1671,  was  several  times  com- 
mander of  the  Anc.  &  Hon.  Artillery,  and  colonel  of  the  Boston  regiment.  Re. 
moving  to  New  Plymouth,  he  was  six  years  an  assistant,  one  of  the  council 
under  Andros  in  1687,  and  with  Bradford  and  Lothrop,  counsellors  under  the 
charter  of  William  and  Mary,  in  1692.  He  was  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of 
Massachusetts  from  1700  to  1712,  when  he  died  at  Boston,  11  January,  aged  69. 
He  commanded  the  expedition  against  Canada,  in  1690,  and  his  journal  is  pub- 
lished in  the  Appendix  to  Hutchinson's  History  of  the  Colony  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  554 — 566. 


THOMAS    HINCKLEY.  215 

of  Governor  Hinckley,  during  this  period  of  difficulty, 
seems  to  have  been  such,  as  to  preserve  the  confidence 
of  the  people  ;  for  immediately  after  the  deposition  and 
imprisonment  of  Andros,  in  1689,  the  ancient  privileges 
of  the  colony  of  New  Plymouth  were  resumed,  and  Gov- 
ernor Hinckley  was  again  called  to  the  chief  magistracy. 

At  this  period  of  general  despondency,  the  late  gov- 
ernor of  Plymouth,  Mr.  Hinckley,  had  the  courage  to  lay 
at  the  foot  of  the  throne,  the  complaints  of  the  people. 
In  their  behalf,  acting  for  the  Plymouth  colony,  he  pre- 
ferred a  petition,  in  which  the  King  was  asked — 

c  That  his  majesty's  subjects  in  New  England  might 
be  quieted  in  possession  of  all  property,  both  in  houses 
and  lands,  as  they  enjoyed  them  before  the  government 
was  changed  on  the  24th  of  May,  1686;  and  that  the 
ancient  records  then  settled  for  titles  of  lands,  might  be 
confirmed. 

( That  there  be  liberty  of  conscience  in  matters  of  re- 
ligion ;  that  their  former  methods  of  swearing  in  giving 
evidence  may  be  allowed ;  and  that  all  their  meeting- 
houses might  be  left  free  to  them,  according  to  the  inten- 
tion of  the  builders  thereof. 

c  That  no  laws  may  be  made  nor  moneys  raised  there, 
without  the  consent  of  a  General  Assembly,  as  it  is  in  the 
other  plantations. 

6  That  all  townships  may  have  liberty  to  assemble  and 
manage  the  business  of  their  several  precincts  as  under 
the  former  government,  and  have  power  to  reserve  and 
dispose  of  all  voluntary  contributions. 

'That  the  college  at  Cambridge  in  New  England^ 
and  the  revenues  thereunto  belonging,  be  confirmed  in 
the  hands  of  a  president  and  fellows,  as  formerly.' 


216  THOMAS    HINCKLEY. 

This  petition,  and  all  others,  were  unheeded  by  the 
King,  who"  seemed  to  be  influenced  by  a  blind  infatuation, 
which,  as  it  rendered  him  insensible  to  the  perils  by 
which  he  was  immediately  surrounded,  could  scarcely 
have  been  expected  to  have  permitted  him  to  become 
sensible  of  those  which  were  more  remote.  But  a  period 
to  the  reign  of  misrule  was  at  hand.  Goaded  to  resist- 
ance by  the  conduct  of  Andros,  the  people  rose  in  a 
body,  and  deposed  him  in  April,  1689,  and  the  news  of 
the  revolution  in  England  immediately  followed.  It  was 
hailed  with  joy  in  New  Plymouth. 

Of  the  seven  counsellors  from  Plymouth,  Nathaniel 
Clark  was  the  only  one,  who  yielded  a  ready  and  servile 
compliance  to  the  wishes  of  Andros.  He  of  course  be- 
came obnoxious  to  the  people.  The  governor  rewarded 
him  with  the  grant  of  Clark's  Island,  in  Plymouth  har- 
bor.* As  soon  as  the  news  of  the  imprisonment  of  An- 
dros was  received,  the  people  of  Plymouth  declared 
their  detestation  of  Counsellor  Clark,  by  a  spirited  mani- 
festo, which  bears  date  A.pril  22,  1689,  setting  forth 
his  oppressions  and  his  crimes,  and  declaring  that  they 
seized  upon  his  person,  resolving  to  secure  him,  for  the 
hands  of  justice  to  deal  with  him  according  to  his  demer- 


*  This  island,  which  contains  a  little  more  than  80  acres  of  fertile  land,  was 
the  earliest  resting  place  of  the  Pilgrims  from  amidst  the  storm  which  they  en- 
countered on  the  night  of  the  8th  December,  1620,  while  coasting  along  the  bay 
before  their  final  landing.  These  circumstances  probably  led  the  people  to  at- 
tach a  particular  reverence  to  the  spot.  It  was  never  sold,  but  reserved  for  the 
benefit  of  the  poor  of  the  town.  When  the  people  heard  that  Clark  had  ob- 
tained the  grant,  they  met  in  town  meeting,  and  determined  at  all  hazards  to 
reclaim  the  Island.  Their  town  clerk  and  committee,  together  with  the  minis- 
ter of  Duxbury,  were  thereupon  arrested  by  order  of  Andros,  and  bound  over 
for  trial  at  Boston;  and  Clark  was  already  exulting  in  anticipation  of  the  en- 
joyment of  his  acquisition,  when  the  fall  of  Andros  restored  the  Island  to  its 
original  proprietors.     Thacher,  153. 


THOMAS    HINCKLEY.  217 

its.  He  was  accordingly  imprisoned  and  put  in  irons, 
and  the  next  year  sent  with  Andros,  his  master,  in  the 
same  ship  to  England. 

The  members  of  the  general  court  of  New  Plymouth, 
which  was  in  existence  in  1686,  when  the  government 
of  Andros  commenced,  were  now  summoned  together. 
They  assembled  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  June,  1689,  and 
reinstated  the  former  government,  at  the  same  time  issu- 
ing the  following  declaration :   "  Whereas,  through  the 
great  changes  Divine  Providence  hath  ordered  out,  both  in 
England  and  in  this  country,  we,  the  loyal  subjects  of  the 
Crown  of  England,  are  left  in  an  unsettled  state,  destitute 
of  government,  and  exposed  to  the  ill  consequences  there- 
of, and  having  heretofore  enjoyed  a  quiet  settlement  of 
government,  in  this  their  Majesties'  Colony  of  New  Ply- 
mouth  for  more  than  three  score  and  six  years,  without 
any  interruption ;  having  also  been,  by  the  late  Kings  of 
England,  by  their  royal  letters,  graciously  owned  and 
acknowledged  therein;  whereby,  notwithstanding  our 
late  unjust  interruption,  and  suspension  therefrom,  by  the 
illegal,  arbitrary  power  of  Sir  Edmund  Andros  (now 
ceased)  the  general  court  held  here,  in  the  name  of  their 
present  Majesties,  William  and  Mary,  King  and  Queen  of 
England,  &c,  together  with  the  encouragement  given  by 
their  said  Majesties'  gracious  declarations,  and  in  'humble 
confidence  of  their  said  Majesties'  good  liking,  do  there- 
fore, hereby  re-assume,  and  declare  their  re-assuming  of 
their  said  former  way  of  government,  according  to  such 
wholesome  constitutions,  rules  and  orders,  as  were  here 
in  force,  in  June,  1686,  our  title  thereto  being  warranted 
by  prescription  and  otherwise  as  aforesaid,  and  expects  a 
ready  submission  thereunto,  by  all  their  Majesties  good 
28 


218  THOMAS    HINCKLEY. 

subjects  of  this  Colony,  until  their  Majesties  or  this 
Court  shall  otherwise  order,  and  that  all  our  Courts  be 
hereafter  held  and  all  warrants  directed,  and  officers 
sworn,  in  the  name  of  their  Majesties,  William  and  Mary, 
King  and  Queen  of  England." 

On  the  6th  of  June,  Governor  Hinckley  wrote  to 
Sir  Henry  Ashurst,  whom  he  styles  "New  England's 
friend,"  enclosing  an  address,  from  the  Colony,  to  King 
William  and  Queen  Mary.  Governor  Hinckley  had 
been  requested  to  prepare  it,  and  it  was  to  include  a 
prayer  "  for  the  re-establishment  of  their  former  liberties 
and  privileges,  both  sacred  and  civil."  "  You  will  see," 
says  he,  "  representations  of  our  present  estate,  perhaps  a 
little  more  particular  than  were  proper  in  such  an  appli- 
cation!" This  letter  is  acknowledged  August  13,  1689: 
"  I  do  not  make  use  of  the  liberty  you  gave  me,"  says 
Sir  H.  Ashurst,  "to  alter  or  add  any  thing  to  your  address, 
it  being  all  of  a  piece,  a  grave,  a  seasonable  and  hand- 
some representation  of  your  affairs,  which  I  delivered  to 
the  King,  after  I  had  read  it  to  him.  He  returned  a 
very  gracious  answer,  that  he  would  take  care  of  the 
good  of  his  Colonies  in  New  England." 

Amongst  the  evils  bequeathed  by  Anclros  to  New 
England,  was  a  harassing  and  destructive  war  with  the 
Eastern  Indians,  known  as  King  William's  war,  which 
commenced  in  1689.  Governor  Hinckley,  as  one  of  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Colonies,  and  of  the  council  of  war 
in  New  Plymouth,  appears  to  have  labored  with  zeal 
and  promptitude  in  the  necessary  measures  to  prosecute 
the  war.  Major  Benjamin  Church,  who  had  so  distin- 
guished himself  in  the  Narragansett  war,  was  singled  out 
for  the  command  of  the  Plymouth  forces  by  Governor 


THOMAS    HINCKLEY.  219 

Hinckley,  and  was  also  invested  with  the  command  of 
the  troops  raised  by  Massachusetts.  The  war  had  not 
terminated,  when  the  Colony  of  New  Plymouth  ceased 
to  exist. 

Soon  after  the  re-establishment  of  the  former  govern- 
ment, the  people  of  Plymouth  again  turned  their  attention 
to  the  question  of  obtaining  a  charter.  They  were  aware 
that  their  more  powerful  neighbors  of  Massachusetts,  and 
the  agents  of  New  York,  were  each  desirous  of  extend- 
ing their  jurisdiction  over  the  territory  of  New  Ply- 
mouth. Amongst  their  own  citizens,  there  were  also 
some,  who  were  beginning  to  favor  the  idea  of  annexa- 
tion to  Massachusetts. 

It  appears  from  the  letters  of  Governor  Hinckley,  that 
while  laboring  to  forward  the  measures  necessary  to  ob- 
tain the  charter,  he  was  greatly  discouraged  at  the  diffi- 
culty of  providing  the  means.  He  well  understood  the 
condition  of  the  people.  The  debts  of  the  colony 
were  at  this  time  not  less  than  <£27,000.  The  general 
court  had  voted  a  tax  for  the  gradual  reimbursement  of 
the  debt;  but  the  pecuniary  distresses  of  the  people 
were  great;  angry  dissensions  distracted  the  colony,  and 
violent  parties  had  been  formed ;  some  refused  to  pay  any 
taxes,  particularly  taxes  imposed  for  the  support  of  the 
ministers ;  the  people  had  become  suspicious  and  irrita- 
ble; the  authority  of  the  government  was  not  only 
doubted,  but  openly  denied  by  those  who  disliked  their 
proceedings. 

In  this  state  of  things,  it  was  not  wonderful  that  the 
sum  necessary  to  defray  the  expenses  of  obtaining  the 
charter  could  not  be  raised.  Some  of  the  towns  sub- 
scribed their  proportions,  on  condition  that  other  towns 


220  THOMAS    HINCKLEY. 

should  do  the  same ;  but  others  refusing,  the  subscription 
failed,,  as  a  matter  of  course. 

In  February,  1690,  the  Rev.  Ichabocl  Wiswall,  the 
minister  of  Duxbury,  went  to  England,  in  company  with 
Messrs.  Elisha  Cooke,  and  Thomas  Oakes,  who  were  ap- 
pointed agents  of  Massachusetts  for  procuring  the  con- 
firmation of  the  ancient  charter  of  that  colony.  Soon 
after  his  departure,  he  was  chosen  an  agent  by  Plymouth, 
to  obtain  the  confirmation  of  their's;  and  subsequently. 
Increase  Mather  and  Sir  Henry  Ashurst  were  appointed 
to  act  conjointly  with  him.  Mather  had  previously  fled 
from  Massachusetts  in  disguise,  during  the  administration 
of  Andros,  and  embarked  for  England,  in  order  to  lay 
the  complaints  of  that  colony  at  the  foot  of  the  throne. 

The  agents  were  faithful  to  their  trust,  but  the  desir- 
ed object  could  not  be  accomplished.  In  January,  1691, 
Cotton  Mather  thus  writes  to  Governor  Hinckley,  refer- 
ring to  letters  received  from  his  father — "I  perceive, 
that  about  the  middle  of  last  November,  God  had  so 
blessed  his  applications,  as  when  all  other  means  of  resto- 
ration to  our  ancient  liberties  failed  us,  he  had  obtained 
of  the  King  an  order  to  the  Judges,  Holt  and  Pollexfen, 
and  the  Attorney  and  Solicitor-General,  to  draw  up  a 
new  charter  for  us,  which  was  done,  but  just  as  the  ves- 
sel came  away,  and  waited  for  the  broad  seal,  Gover- 
nor Sclater  ( Slough ter)  of  New  York,  had  Plymouth 
put  into  his  commission,  but  purely  through  my  father's 
industry  and  discretion,  he  procured  the  dropping  of  it. 
Our  friends  at  Whitehall  assured  him,  that  if  he  had  pe- 
titioned for  a  charter  to  be  bestowed  upon  Plymouth,  by 
itself,  there  had  none  been  obtained  for  you,  nor  for  us 
neither ;  wherefore  he  procured  Plymouth  to  be  inserted 


THOMAS    HINCKLEY.  221 

in  our  grant.  But  when  Mr.  Wiswall  understood  it,  he 
came  and  told  my  father  your  Colony  would  all  curse  him 
for  it,  at  which  the  Solicitor-General,  being  extreme- 
ly moved,  presently  dashed  it  out,  so  that  you  are  now 
again  like  to  be  annexed  unto  the  government  of  New 
York,  and  if  you  find  yourselves  thereby  plunged  into 
manifold  miseries,  you  have  none  to  thank  for  it  but  one 
of  your  own." 

This  intelligence  excited  much  uneasiness  and  alarm 
in  Plymouth  Colony.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Cotton  in  a  letter 
to  Governor  Hinckley,  Feb.  6,  1691,  urges  him  to  re- 
pair to  England,  and  to  use  his  best  endeavors  to  pre- 
vent the  meditated  arrangement.  He  assures  the  Gover- 
nor that  this  is  the  opinion  of  many  men  of  u  wisdom, 
prudence,  and  piety,"  with  whom  he  had  consulted.  "I 
believe  none  amongst  us,"  he  adds,  "  will  be  free  to  trust 
any  but  yourself;  and  as  for  the  many  hundreds  of 
pounds,  that  must  be  collected  to  defray  the  charge  of 
such  an  undertaking,  I  find,  amongst  us,  great  readiness, 
maugre  all  our  great  charges,  to  contribute  liberally  there- 
to." Mr.  Cotton  appears  to  have  overrated  the  ability 
or  disposition  of  the  people,  to  make  the  necessary  con- 
tributions. 

The  Court  met  in  March,  and  with  "hearty  thanks," 
expressed  to  Sir  Henry  Ashurst,  Rev.  Mr.  Mather,  and 
Rev.  Mr.  Wiswall,  besides  a  grant  to  Sir  Henry  Ashurst 
of  fifty  guineas,  and  to  the  other  two  gentlemen  of  twen- 
ty-five guineas  each,  voted  to  raise  £200  more,  to  be  re- 
mitted "toward  the  charge  of  procuring  a  charter."  Sir 
Henry  Ashurst  was  appointed  sole  agent,  but  was  request- 
ed to  advise  with  Mr.  Mather  and  Mr.  Wiswall.  The 
amount  voted,  was  not  in  the  treasury,  and  a  subscrip- 


222  THOMAS    HINCKLEY. 

tion  was  opened,  to  raise  the  requisite  sum,,  in  the  several 
towns,  under  the  direction  of  the  deputies. 

It  appears  by  subsequent  letters,  from  Governor 
Hinckley  to  Messrs.  Wiswall  and  Mather,  that  the  whole 
sum  was  not  raised,  and  what  was  collected  was  returned 
to  the  subscribers. 

In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Mather,  dated  16  October,  1691, 
Governor  Hinckley  says — "  Your  service  in  keeping  us 
from  New  York,  and  all  other  intimations  for  the  good  of 
this  colony,  is  thankfully  received,  and  it  would  have  been 
well  pleasing  to  myself  and  sundry  others  of  the  most 
thinking  men,  who  are  desirous  of  supporting  the  minis- 
try and  schools  of  learning,  to  have  been  annexed  to 
Boston,  yet  the  greater  part  of  the  people,  and  of  our 
deputies,  are  most  desirous  of  obtaining  a  charter  for 
themselves,  if  possible  to  be  procured,  though  so  far  as  I 
can  discern,  they  had  much  rather  be  annexed  to  the 
Massachusetts  than  New  York,  yet  are  not  willing  to 
have  it  mentioned,  lest  it  should  divert  any  endeavours  for 
obtaining  a  distinct  charter  for  themselves.  It  was  voted 
that  two  hundred  pounds  should  be  raised  by  a  voluntary 
contribution.  On  trial  made,  though  some  particular 
men  and  towns  did  contribute  liberally,  yet  others,  by 
reason  of  the  great  charge  of  the  war,  and  partly  being 
discouraged  by  some  leading  men  telling  them  that  they 
would  but  throw  away  their  money,  that  they  never  would 
be  like  to  obtain  a  charter,  nor  you  neither  for  the  Mas- 
sachusetts, thereby  the  sum  proposed  fell  considerably 
short,  and  by  the  court's  order,  the  whole  sum  not  being 
raised,  none  was  to  be  sent.  Not  being  in  a  capacity  to 
make  rates  for  any  equal  defraying  the  charge,  I  see  little 
<or  no  likelihood  of  obtaining  a  charter  for  us,  unless  their 


THOMAS    HINCKLEY.  223 

majesties,  out  of  their  royal  bounty  and  clemency,  gra- 
ciously please  to  grant  it,  sub  forma  pauperis,  to  their 
poor  and  loyal  subjects  of  this  colony."  The  letter  to  Mr. 
Wiswall  is  in  the  same  strain,  with  the  additional  commu- 
nication of  some  turbulent  proceedings,  in  contempt  of 
the  authority  of  the  Colony,  particularly  in  the  county  of 
Bristol,  in  regard  to  taxes  for  operations  against  the 
French,  in  which  he  says,  the  people  about  Dartmouth 
and  Little-Compton,  were  supported  by  Governor 
Sloughter,  who  arrived  in  New  York  in  March,  1691. 

Before  these  letters  were  written,  however,  the  bus- 
iness was  completed  in  England.  The  charter  granted 
to  Massachusetts,  in  which  Plymouth  was  included,  bears 
date  October  7th,  1691.  Mr.  Wiswall  could  not  be 
reconciled  to  this  arrangement,  and  strongly  expressed 
his  feelings  on  the  occasion,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Hinckley, 
dated  the  5th  of  November  following :  "  I  do  believe  Ply- 
mouth's silence,  Hampshire's  neglect,  and  the  rashness 
and  impudence  of  one,  at  least,  who  went  from  New 
England  in  disguise  by  night,  hath  not  a  little  contributed 
to  our  general  disappointment.  Plymouth,  the  Massa- 
chusetts, as  far  west  as  the  Narragansett  country,  and 
northward  three  miles  beyond  Merrimack  river,  the 
province  of  Maine,  and  the  lands  from  Sagadehoc  east- 
ward as  far  as  the  easternmost  extent  of  Acadia  or  Nova 
Scotia,  are  clapt  into  one  province,  under  such  restrictions 
as  I  believe  will  not  be  very  acceptable  to  those  inhabi- 
tants who  must  lose  their  ancient  names.  There  are  in 
the  new  charter  28  counsellors  (of  which  4  for  Pli- 
mouth)  a  governor  and  a  deputy,  all  nominated  by  one 
who  acts  as  if  he  were  a  sole  plenipotentiary.  The  gov- 
ernor, deputy  and  secretary  are  to  be  nominated  and  con- 


224  THOMAS    HINCKLEY. 

tinned  only  durante  bene  placito.  Sir  W.  P.  hath  one 
that  labours  hard  for  his  advancement.*  I  only  reflect  on 
New  England's  condition  under  this  juncture  of  Provi- 
dence, much  like  that  of  the  Jews  under  Cyrus  ascending 
the  throne  of  their  oppressor.  At  his  first  appearance, 
they  were  in  hope  to  rebuild  their  city  and  sanctuary, 
but  were  deprived  of  their  expected  privileges  all  his 
days  by  ill  minded  counsellors.  All  the  frame  of  heaven 
moves  on  one  axis,  and  the  whole  of  New  England's  in- 
terest seems  designed  to  be  loaden  on  one  bottom,  and 
her  particular  motions  to  be  concentric  to  the  Massachu- 
setts tropic.  You  know  who  are  wont  to  trot  after  the 
bay-horse ;  your  distance  is  your  advantage,  by  which 
you  may  observe  their  motions.  Yet  let  me  remind  you 
of  that  great  statesman,  Ecclesiastes,  viii.  14.  Few  wise 
men  rejoice  at  their  chains.  Doubtless  it  would  be  ac- 
counted hypocrisy  before  God,  and  ground  of  despair 
among  men,  to  see  any  person  receive  and  entertain  the 
present  and  undeniable  evidences  of  his  disappointment, 
with  the  usual  testimonies  and  compliments  attending  the 
desire  accomplished." 

Mr.  Wiswall  in  this,  and  in  other  letters,  indulges  in 
severe  remarks  on  Mr.  Mather,  as  if  it  were  by  his  man- 
agement, that  the  union  of  Plymouth  with  Massachusetts 
was  effected ;  but  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  his  jeal- 
ousies, on  this  subject,  were  unfounded.     Mr.  Mather 

*  The  Rev.  Mr.  Wiswall  here  refers  to  Sir  William  Phips,  upon  whose  ap- 
pointment as  governor  in  1692,  Cotton  Mather  exultingly  exclaims — "  The  time 
has  come  !  the  set  time  has  come  !  I  am  now  to  receive  an  answer  to  so  many 
prayers.  All  of  the  Counsellors  of  the  Province  are  of  my  own  father's  nomi- 
nation, and  my  father-in-law,  with  several  related  to  me,  and  several  brethren 
of  my  own  church,  are  among  them.  The  Governor  of  the  Province  is  not  my 
enemy,  but  one  I  baptized ;  namely,  Sir  William  Phips,  one  of  my  own  flock, 
and  one  of  my  dearest  friends."— Diary  of  Cottpn  Mather. 


THOMAS    HINCKLEY.  225 

undoubtedly  exerted  himself  to  prevent  the  annexation 
of  Plymouth  to  New  York ;  and  from  an  attentive  ex- 
amination of  all  accessible  documents,  on  the  subject, 
there  appears  no  reason  to  doubt  his  fidelity  and  sincerity, 
in  regard  to  Plymouth,  as  well  as  Massachusetts.*  All 
his  influence  and  that  of  his  friends,  and  of  the  country's 
friends  in  England,  which  was  very  considerable,  could 
not,  probably,  however  exerted,  have  prevented  the  an- 
nexation of  Plymouth,  either  to  New  York  or  to  Massa- 
chusetts. 

There  appears  no  evidence  of  discontent  on  the  part 
of  Plymouth  to  this  measure,  after  it  was  adopted.  Gov- 
ernor Hinckley,  in  the  letter  already  quoted,  says  to  Dr. 
Mather,  "  that  it  would  be  well  pleasing  to  himself  and 
sundry  other  of  the  most  thinking  men,  who  are  desirous 
of  supporting  the  ministry  and  schools  of  learning,"  to 
be  annexed  to  Massachusetts.  Plymouth  Colony  had 
done  worthily,  during  its  separate  existence.  This  was 
then  acknowledged,  and  will  be  acknowledged  in  all  future 
time ;  but  there  has,  probably,  been  no  period  since  the 
union,  in  which  that  transaction  has  been  regretted  by  the 
people  inhabiting  the  territory.  The  similarity  of  charac- 
ter, and  identity  of  interests  of  every  description,  ren- 

*  Dr.  Mather  opposed  the  proceedings  of  Andros,  in  Massachusetts,  with 
such  boldness  and  energy,  that  he  was  obliged  to  leave  the  province  to  escape 
his  tyranny.  He  was  in  England  at  the  time  of  the  revolution  of  1688,  and 
acquired  great  influence  with  the  new  government.  Being  considered  the  head 
and  representative  of  the  clergy  of  Massachusetts,  the  ministers  of  the  Crown 
were  desirous  to  conciliate  him ;  well  knowing  that  in  fact  the  ecclesiastical 
was  the  predominating  estate  of  the  Colonial  realm.  To  this  end  they  gave 
him  the  nomination  of  the  governor,  counsellors,  and  all  the  officers  appointed 
under  the  new  charter.  Quincy's  Harv.  Univ.,  i.  59.  A  knowledge  of  these 
facts  probably  led  the  honest  minded  Mr.  Wiswall  to  believe  that  Dr.  Mather 
possessed  sufficient  influence  to  have  preserved  the  independence  of  New  Ply- 
mouth, had  he  chosen  to  exert  it. 

29 


226  THOMAS    HINCKLEY. 

dered  such  a  union  rational  and  desirable,  and  it  is  ob- 
servable that  the  people  of  New  Hampshire,  as  Dr.  Bel- 
knap informs  us,  would  gladly  have  been  annexed  to  the 
same  government,  and  indeed,  petitioned  for  such  a  union 
by  a  convention  of  deputies  assembled  for  that  purpose. 
The  measure  was  defeated  only  by  the  influence  of  the 
heirs  or  assignees  of  some  great  proprietors.*  It  is  to 
the  honor  of  Massachusetts,  that  none  have  had  reason  to 
regret  a  comprehension  with  her  jurisdiction,  and  that 
her  history,  in  every  stage  of  her  progress,  exhibits  mul- 
tiplied instances  of  magnanimity,  public  spirit,  and  regard 
to  the  best  interests  of  man. 

By  the  new  charter  of  1691,  four,  at  least,  of  the 
twenty-eight  counsellors,  were  to  be  from  the  territory, 
"  formerly  called  New-Plymouth."  The  four  gentlemen 
named  for  this  purpose  in  the  charter,  were  Thomas 
Hinckley,  William  Bradford,  John  Walley,  and  Barna- 
bas Lothrop.f 

Governor  Sloughter  having  arrived  at  New  York, 
previous  to  the  arrival  of  Sir  William  Phips  with  the 
new  charter  of  Massachusetts,  attempted  to  exercise  his 
authority  in  the  jurisdiction  of  New  Plymouth,  and  issued 
his  orders  as  though  it  was  a  part  of  the  province  of  New 
York ;  but  the  arrival  of  Phips  at  Boston,  with  the  char- 
ter, 14th  May,  1692,  occasioned  their  immediate  suspen- 
sion. A  court  having  been  summoned  by  the  new  gov- 
ernor, on  the  8th  of  June  following,  the  province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  proceeded  to  exercise  her  newly  ac- 
quired authority  without  interruption.  She  had  emerged 
from  her  colonial  state,  to  be  a  province  of  the  empire ; 

*  See  Belknap's  Hist,  of  New-Hampshire,  (Farmers  edit.)  123. 
1  Davis'  note,  Morton's  Memorial,  473—477. 


THOMAS    HINCKLEY.  227 

she  had  become  sufficiently  powerful  to  attract  the  notice 
of  the  monarch;  and  her  democratic  tendencies  were 
henceforth  to  be  more  carefully  watched  by  the  ministers 
of  the  crown.  New  Plymouth  quietly  submitted  to  her 
younger  sister,  and  the  amalgamation  of  the  two  colonies 
was  soon  perfected. 

The  last  general  court  of  the  colony  was  summoned, 
and  met  at  Plymouth  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  July — and 
the  last  exercise  of  power  by  that  body  was  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  day  of  solemn  fasting  and  humiliation.  The 
days  of  the  colony  of  New  Plymouth  were  numbered  ! 

The  population  of  the  colony  at  this  period  was  about 
thirteen  thousand.  There  was  little  trade,  and  a  heavy 
debt  impended  over  them.  The  whole  personal  prop- 
erty of  individuals  was  but  little  more  than  sufficient  to 
discharge  the  general  debt,  which  had  grown  out  of 
the  great  Indian  war.  Yet  there  were  here  the  elements 
and  seeds  of  that  wealth,  which  in  the  next  century  was 
developed,  by  the  patience,  honesty,  industry,  and  ener- 
gy of  the  people. 

During  the  whole  period  of  the  independent  exist- 
ence of  this  colony,  the  government,  almost  self-constitut- 
ed, had  been  respected  and  obeyed.  It  was  found  fully 
equal  to  the  exigences  of  peace  and  war ;  and  to  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  great  end  of  all  governments,  the 
security  of  the  rights  of  persons,  and  of  property ;  and  by 
a  firm  and  steady  course  of  action,  it  was  able  to  produce 
a  universal  consciousness  of  that  security. 

The  question  may  very  naturally  be  asked,  how  it 
happened  that  a  population  of  adventurers,  without  mili- 
tary force,  and  with  little  wealth,  which  is  unquestiona- 
bly a  formidable  element  of  power,  and  by  which  men 


228  THOMAS    HINCKLEY. 

often  make  their  rule  acceptable ;  and  with  an  equality 
as  general  as  was  possible  in  any  country  which  had  a 
government ;  could,  without  the  sanction  of  a  royal  char- 
ter, and  without  the  interference  of  the  metropolis,  which 
in  infant  colonies  is  generally  imperative  and  absolute,  sus- 
tain themselves  so  long,  and  without  tumults  and  com- 
motions, do  every  thing  essential  to  the  well  being  of  the 
community  ?  This  question  finds  its  solution  in  the  re- 
ligious character  of  the  people.  Worldly  objects  were 
with  them  secondary,  and  that  curse  of  all  small  and 
independent  communities,  political  ambition,  found  no 
place  amongst  them.  The  highest  offices  were  not  sought, 
but  the  services  of  such  as  were  fit  to  sustain  them  were 
demanded  as  the  right  of  the  people,  and  they  were  ac- 
cepted, not  for  the  sake  of  distinction,  emolument  or  pleas- 
ure, but  from  a  sense  of  duty.  Fearful  of  the  loss  of  rep- 
utation, men  underwent  the  severe  and  painful  duties 
which  such  offices  required. 

Where  there  was  no  strife  for  power,  no  temptation 
in  the  shape  of  emolument,  and  no  passion  for  official  dis- 
tinctions, small  was  the  danger  of  feuds  and  factions. 

The  junction  of  Plymouth  with  Massachusetts  des- 
troyed all  the  political  consequence  of  the  former. 
The  people  of  Plymouth  shared  but  few  of  the  favors 
which  the  new  government  had  to  bestow,  and  it  was  sel- 
dom indeed,  that  any  resident  in  what  was  termed  'the 
old  colony'  obtained  any  office  or  distinction  in  the 
provincial  government,  or  acquired  any  influence  in  its 
councils. 

Plymouth,  however,  may  well  be  proud  of  the  high 
distinction  which  has  been  acquired  by  many  of  her 
native  sons,  when  placed  in  a  more  genial  clime. 


THOMAS    HINCKLEY.  229 

She  has  furnished  her  full  proportion  of  talent, 
genius,  learning  and  enterprise,  in  almost  every  depart- 
ment of  life;  and  in  other  lands  the  merits  of  the  pos- 
terity of  the  pilgrims  have  been  acknowledged.  They 
may  be  found  wherever  the  sway  of  the  American  repub- 
lic is  acknowledged,  and  even  in  the  armies  and  navies, 
and  in  the  councils  of  our  "  father  land,"  they  have  won 
their  way  to  eminence,  not  by  the  aid  of  birth  or  family 
connections,  but  by  the  force  of  superior  merit  and  trans- 
cendent ability.  Among  the  proudest  names  in  the 
British  navy,  may  be  found  the  descendant  of  the  origi- 
nal purchaser  of  Mattapoisett  in  Swansey,*  and  attached 
to  the  title  of  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  Eng- 
lish peerage,  is  the  name  of  one  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Scituate.f 

In  one  respect,  the  people  of  the  Old  Colony  pre- 
sent a  remarkable  exception  to  the  rest  of  America. 
They  are  perhaps  the  purest  English  race  in  the  world ; 
there  is  scarcely  an  intermixture  even  with  the  Scotch 
or  Irish,  and  none  with  the  aboriginals.  Almost  all 
the  present  population  are  descended  from  the  origi- 
nal English  settlers.  Many  of  them  still  own  the  lands 
which  their  early  ancestors  rescued  from  the  wilder- 
ness, and  although  they  have  spread  themselves  in  every 

*  Mattapoisett  Neck,  in  Swansey,  was  purchased  by  William  Brenton, 
governor  of  Rhode  Island,  of  Philip,  the  sachem  of  Mount  Hope,  by  deed 
dated  23  June,  1664.  Jahleel  Brenton,  grandson  of  Governor  Brenton,  had 
twenty-two  children.  His  fourth  son,  Jahleel,  born  22  Oct.  1729,  entered  the 
British  navy  when  a  youth,  distinguished  himself  in  service,  and  rose  to  the 
rank  of  admiral.  He  died  in  1802.  His  son,  Jahleel,  was  bred  to  the  sea,  rose 
to  be  an  admiral,  and  was  knighted  in  1810. 

i  Thomas  Richard,  the  third  Lord  Holland,  married  an  heiress  of  the  name 
of  Vassall,  and  his  son,  Henry  Richard  Fox  Vassall,  is  the  present  Lord  Hol- 
land, Baron  Holland  in  Lincolnshire,  and  Foxley  in  Wilts.  Playfair's  British 
Family  Antiquities,  ii.  182. 


230  THOMAS    HINCKLEY. 

direction  through  this  wide  continent,  from  the  penin- 
sula of  Nova  Scotia  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  some  one  of 
the  family  has  generally  remained  to  cultivate  the  soil 
which  was  owned  by  his  ancestors.  The  fishermen  and 
navigators  of  Maine,  the  children  of  Plymouth,  still  con- 
tinue the  industrious  and  bold  pursuits  of  their  forefath- 
ers. In  that  fine  country,  beginning  at  Utica  in  the  State 
of  New  York,  and  stretching  to  Lake  Erie,  this  race  may 
be  found  on  every  hill  and  in  every  valley,  on  the  rivers 
and  on  the  lakes.  The  emigrant  from  the  sand  banks  of 
Cape  Cod,  revels  in  the  profusion  of  the  agricultural  op- 
ulence of  Ohio.  In  all  the  southern  and  southwestern 
states,  the  natives  of  the  '  old  colony,'  like  the  Armenians 
of  Asia,  may  be  found  in  every  place  where  commerce 
and  traffic  offer  any  lure  to  enterprise ;  and  in  the  heart 
of  the  gigantic  peninsula  of  Michigan,  like  their  ances- 
tors, they  have  commenced  the  cultivation  of  the  wilder- 
ness, like  them,  originally  surrounded  with  savage  beasts 
and  savage  men,  and  like  them,  patient  in  suffering,  des- 
pising danger,  and  animated  with  hope.* 

*  Baylies,  in  conclusion  of  his  Hist,  of  New  Plymouth.  The  following  re- 
marks of  President  Dwight,  when  contemplating  the  history  of  New  Plymouth, 
may  be  appropriately  added:  "The  institutions,  civil,  literary  and  religious,  by 
which  New  England  is  distinguished  on  this  side  the  Atlantic,  began  here. 
Here  the  manner  of  holding  lands  in  free  soccage,  now  universal  in  this  coun- 
try, commenced.  Here  the  right  of  suffrage  was  imparted  to  every  citizen,  to 
every  inhabitant  not  disqualified  by  poverty  or  vice.  Here  was  formed  the  first 
establishment  of  towns,  of  the  local  legislature,  which  is  called  a  town  meeting, 
and  of  the  peculiar  town  executive,  styled  the  selectmen.  Here  the  first  paro- 
chial school  was  set  up,  and  the  system  originated  for  communicating  to  every 
child  in  the  community  the  knowledge  of  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic. 
Here,  also,  the  first  building  was  erected  for  the  worship  of  God  ;  the  first  re- 
ligious assembly  gathered  ;  and  the  first  minister  called  and  settled,  by  the  voice 
of  the  church  and  congregation.  On  these  simple  foundations  has  since  been 
erected  a  structure  of  good  order,  peace,  liberty,  knowledge,  morals  and  reli- 
gion, with  which  nothing  on  this  side  the  Atlantic  can  bear  a  remote  compari- 
son." 


THOMAS    HINCKLEY.  231 

Governor  Hinckley  died  at  Barnstable,  in  1706,  and 
the  following  inscription  is  placed  upon  his  tombstone  : 
"  Beneath  this  stone,  erected  A.  D.  1829,  are  deposited 
the  mortal  remains  of  Thomas  Hinckley.  He  died  A. 
D.  1706,  aged  85  years.  History  bears  witness  to  his 
piety,  usefulness,  and  agency  in  the  public  transactions 
of  his  time.  The  important  offices  he  was  called  to  fill, 
evidence  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  people. 
He  was  successively  elected  an  assistant  in  the  govern- 
ment of  Plymouth  colony,  from  1658  to  1681,  and  gov- 
ernor, except  during  the  interruption  of  Sir  Edmund 
Andros,  from  1681  to  the  junction  of  Plymouth  colony 
with  Massachusetts." 

Governor  Hinckley's  first  wife  was  Mary  Richards, 
whom  he  married  in  1641,  and  his  sons  by  this  marriage 
were  Samuel,  born  in  1652,  and  Thomas,  in  1654.  She 
died  soon  after,  and  in  1659,  he  married  Mary,  the 
widow  of  Nathaniel  Glover,  son  of  the  Hon.  John 
Glover  of  Dorchester.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Lau- 
rence Smith,  called  Quarter-Master  Smith,  who  came 
from  England  in  1635,  with  his  family,  and  settled  at 
Dorchester,  Massachusetts.  Governor  Hinckley's  chil- 
dren, by  his  second  marriage,  were  one  son,  Ebenezer, 
and  five  daughters,  one  of  whom  married  the  Rev.  Ex- 
perience Mayhew,  father  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Jonathan 
Mayhew.  Another  daughter,  Mercy,  in  1686,  married 
Samuel  Prince  of  Sandwich,  the  father  of  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Prince,  the  chronologist.  Mr.  Prince  speaks 
in  the  following  terms  of  the  second  Mrs.  Hinckley : 
"  She,  to  the  day  of  her  death,  appeared  and  shone,  in 
the  eyes  of  all,  as  the  loveliest  and  brightest  woman  for 


232  THOMAS    HINCKLEY. 

beauty,  knowledge,  wisdom,  majesty,  accomplishments 
and  graces,  throughout  the  colony." 

Descendants  of  Governor  Hinckley,  of  great  re- 
spectability, are  found  in  Massachusetts,  New  York,  and 
in  the  southern  states.  Hon.  Samuel  Hinckley,  of  North- 
ampton, Massachusetts,  who  died  15  June,  1840,  was 
a  descendant  of  Governor  Hinckley.  Judge  Hinckley 
was  a  soldier  in  the  revolutionary  war,  and  was  wounded 
in  an  engagement  near  the  Hudson.  He  was  a  classmate 
in  college  with  Governor  Griswold,  Judge  Baldwin,  and 
Chancellor  Kent.  He  was  greatly  esteemed  for  the 
purity  of  his  character,  his  extensive  liberality,  and  de- 
voted patriotism. 

Among  the  manuscripts  in  the  library  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Society,  are  3  vols,  folio,  of  papers 
collected  by  Governor  Hinckley.  They  contain  a  mass 
of  valuable  information  relating  to  the  early  history  of  the 
Old  Colony. 


PART    II. 


GOVERNORS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  BAY, 


1630—1689. 


30 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


The  Council  of  Plymouth  for  New  England,  established  by 
James  I.  in  November,  1620,  instead  of  engaging  in  the  work  of 
planting  colonies,  contented  itself  with  the  revenues  it  could  com- 
mand from  the  sale  of  patents.  The  Pilgrims  had  crossed  the  ocean 
to  New  Plymouth,  and  before  the  returning  ships  had  brought  in- 
telligence of  their  success,  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges  and  Capt.  John 
Mason,  who  were  active  members  of  the  Council,  had  each  made 
application  for  giants  of  territory  in  New  England. 

On  the  9th  of  March,  1621,  a  patent  was  issued  to  Mason, 
granting  all  the  lands  from  Salem  river,  round  Cape  Anne,  to  the 
river  Merrimack,  and  up  each  of  these  rivers  to  their  sources,  and 
across  from  the  head  of  one  to  the  other.  This  district  was  called 
Mariana. 

On  the  10th  of  August  following,  a  grant  was  made  to  Gorges 
and  Mason,  of  the  whole  country  between  the  sea,  the  St.  Law- 
rence, the  Merrimack,  and  the  Kennebeck.  And  to  this  they  gave 
the  name  of  Laconia. 

A  third  patent  was  issued,  10th  September,  1621,  to  Sir  Wil- 
liam Alexander,  granting  all  the  territory  east  of  the  river  St.  Croix, 
and  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  already  known  as  the  Acadie  of 
the  French,  and  since  called  Nova  Scotia. 

A  fourth  patent,  granting  a  tract  of  ten  miles  on  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  and  extending  thirty  miles  into  the  interior,  was  issued 
on  the  13th  December,  1622,  to  Robert  Gorges,  son  of  Sir  Ferdi- 
nando Gorges. 

The  fame  of  the  plantation  at  New  Plymouth  had  spread 
throughout  England  ;  but  few  settlements  were  made  prior  to  the 
year  1629.     Weymouth,  the  ancient  Wessagusset,  is  the  oldest  set- 


236  INTRODUCTORY    NOTE. 

tlement  in  what  was  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  being  settled 
by  a  company  under  Thomas  Weston  in  1622. 

In  1625,  a  plantation  was  commenced  at  Braintree.  About 
the  year  1626,  William  Blackstone  settled  on  the  peninsula  of 
Boston,  and  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  the  settlement  which 
had  been  commenced  at  Cape  Anne  in  1625,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Rev.  Mr.  White,  of  Dorchester,  in  England,  was  removed 
to  Salem.  A  solitary  pioneer  had  pitched  his  tent  upon  the  heights 
of  Charlestown  in  1627,  and  was  joined  by  a  few  persons  from 
Salem  in  the  following  year. 

On  the  19th  of  March,  162S,  the  Council  for  New  England 
sold  to  Sir  Henry  Roswell  and  others,  a  belt  of  land,  stretching 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  extending  three  miles  south  of  the 
River  Charles  and  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  three  miles  north 
of  the  Merrimack.  Through  the  instrumentality  of  Mr.  White, 
other  persons  of  wealth  and  character  became  associated  with  them, 
and  afterwards  purchased  rights  in  the  patent.  Among  these  were 
John  Wintluop,  Isaac  Johnson,  Matthew  Cradock,  Thomas  Goffe, 
and  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall.  The  company  soon  after  chose  Mat- 
thew Cradock  their  governor,  and  sent  over  a  few  people  under 
Capt.  John  Endecott  to  prepare  for  the  settlement  of  a  colony. 

On  the  fourth  of  March,  1629,  Charles  I.  granted  a  patent  to 
these  colonists,  under  the  name  of  "  The  Governor  and  Company 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,"  and  the  grantees  im- 
mediately settled  a  form  of  government  for  the  new  Colony.  But 
on  the  29th  of  August,  1629,  the  company,  after  much  discussion, 
decided  that  the  government  and  patent  of  the  plantation  should 
be  transferred  from  London  to  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  that 
their  corporate  powers  should  be  executed  there.  From  this  period 
dates  the  foundation  and  permanent  settlement,  of  the  colony. 
Early  in  the  spring  of  1630,  the  fleet  which  conveyed  Governor 
Winthrop  and  his  company  to  America  sailed  from  the  shores  of 
England.  Further  particulars  of  the  history  of  some  of  these 
men,  will  appear  in  the  following  pages. 


GOVERNORS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  BAY. 


I.     JOHN   WINTHROP. 


John  Winthrop,  the  first  governor  of  Massachusetts, 
was  descended  from  a  family  remarkable  for  its  attachment 
to  the  reformed  religion,  from  the  earliest  period  of  the 
Reformation.  His  grandfather,  Adam  Winthrop,  was  an 
eminent  lawyer  and  lover  of  the  Gospel  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII. ,  and  brother  to  a  memorable  friend  of  the 
Reformation  in  the  reign  of  Mary  I.,  in  whose  hands  the 
martyr  Philpot  left  his  papers,  which  make  a  considera- 
ble part  of  the  history  of  the  Martyrs.  His  father,  Adam 
Winthrop,  was  a  gentleman  of  the  same  profession  and 
character.* 

Governor  Winthrop  was  born  at  the  family-seat  at 
Groton,  in  Suffolk,  January  12,  1588,f  and  was  bred  to 
the  law,  though  he  had  a  very  strong  inclination  to  theo- 
logical studies.  At  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  was  made  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  and  his  virtues  became  conspicuous. 
He  was  exemplary  in  his  profession,  as  an  upright  and 
impartial  magistrate,  and  in  his  private  character,  as  a 
christian.     He  had  wisdom  to  discern,  and  fortitude  to 

*  Adam  Winthrop,  the  elder,  was  buried  the  12  Nov.,  1562. — Parish  Regis- 
ter of  Groton.  No  doubt  this  was  the  grandfather  of  Gov.  Winthrop;  and 
probably  to  him  was  made  the  grant  of  the  manor  of  Groton  from  Henry  VIII. 
after  the  suppression  of  the  religions  houses.  Savage,  in  III  Mass.  Hist.  Coll., 
viii.  207. 

t  Dr.  Belknap,  copying  from  Mather,  places  his  birth  in  1587,  but  from  Sa- 
vage's notes  to  Winthrop's  Journal,  i.  63,  and  ii.  338,  it  appears  that  he  was  born 
January  12th,  1588. 


238  JOHN    WINTHROP. 

do  right  in  the  execution  of  his  office ;  and  as  a  gentle- 
man was  remarkable  for  liberality  and  hospitality.  These 
qualities  rendered  him  dear  to  men  of  sobriety  and  reli- 
gion, and  fitted  him  to  engage  in  the  great  and  difficult 
work  of  founding  a  colony. 

After  our  fathers  at  New  Plymouth,  through  many 
difficulties,  had  prepared  the  way,  and  the  fame  of  their 
successful  enterprise  had  spread  over  England,  many  of 
those  who  disliked  the  corruptions  and  oppressions  of 
the  English  Church,  made  preparations  for  a  removal 
to  America.  The  Rev.  John  White,  a  zealous  puritan, 
of  Dorchester  in  England,  succeeded  in  persuading  a 
number  of  wealthy  men  to  commence  a  settlement  at 
Cape  Anne,  under  the  guidance  of  Roger  Conant, 
who  had  previously  been  at  Plymouth  and  Nantasket. 
The  little  company  had  gathered  at  Cape  Anne  in  1625, 
but  in  1626,  found  a  more  convenient  refuge  at  Salem, 
where  "they  resolved  to  remain  as  the  sentinels  of  puri- 
tanism  in  the  Ray  of  Massachusetts."* 

At  this  time,  liberty  of  conscience  could  not  be  en- 
joyed in  England.  Many  were  so  harassed  for  their 
.non-conformity,  that  they  determined  rather  to  make 
settlements  in  a  dreary  wilderness,  at  the  distance  of  three 
thousand  miles  from  their  native  country,  than  endure 
the  persecution  to  which  they  were  constantly  exposed. 
They  emigrated,  not  for  the  advantages  of  trade,  but  for 
religion,  and  the  enjoyment  of  liberty  of  conscience. 
They  wished  to  transmit  the  blessings  of  civil  and  reli- 
gious liberty,  to  their  posterity.! 

The  Council  for  New  England,  on  the  19th  of  March, 
1628,   sold  to   Sir   Henry   Roswell,  Sir   John  Young, 

*  Bancroft,  i.  339.     t  Ramsay's  Univ.  Hist.,  i.  79. 


JOHN    WINTHROP.  239 

John  Humphrey,  John  Endecott,  Simon  Whetcomb  and 
Thomas  Southcoat,  all  from  the  vicinity  of  Dorchester,  a 
patent  for  all  that  part  of  New  England  lying  between 
three  miles  to  the  southward  of  Charles  river  and  three 
miles  to  the  northward  of  Merrimack  river,  and  in  length 
within  the  prescribed  breadth,  from  the  Atlantic  ocean 
to  the  South  Sea,  or  Pacific*  The  Rev.  Mr.  White  of 
Dorchester,  who  was  at  this  time  zealously  engaged  in 
projecting  an  asylum  for  the  persecuted  non-conformists, 
soon  interested  other  and  powerful  friends  to  become  as- 
sociates in  the  enterprise.!  These  associates  were  John 
Winthrop,  Isaac  Johnson,  Matthew  Cradock,  Thomas 
Goffe,  and  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall,  who  afterwards  pur- 
chased rights  in  the  patent.  Three  of  the  original  pur- 
chasers parted  with  all  their  rights;  but  Humphrey,  En- 
decott,  and  Whetcomb  retained  an  equal  interest  with  the 
new  parties. | 

The  company  soon  after   chose  Matthew  Cradock 
governor,  and    Thomas  GofFe,   deputy  governor,  with 

*  Chalmers,  135. 

t  Rev.  John  White,  A.  M.  was  a  native  of  Stanton  St.  John  in  Oxfordshire, 
where  he  was  born  in  1576,  graduated  at  Oxford,  and  in  1606,  became  the  rec- 
tor of  Trinity  church  in  Dorchester,  where  he  continued  with  little  interruption 
above  forty  years.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  friends  of  the  projected  colony 
in  Massachusetts,  his  object  being  to  provide  an  asylum  for  the  persecuted 
non  conformists.  He  met  with  numerous  discouragements,  and  it  is  said  that 
the  undertaking  was  about  to  be  relinquished,  and  those  who  had  settled  in  the 
new  plantation  were  about  returning  home,  when  they  received  letters  from  Mr. 
White  assuring  them,  that  if  they  would  endure  their  painful  conflict  a  little 
longer,  he  would  procure  for  them  a  patent,  and  all  the  necessary  supplies  for 
the  new  settlement.  They  waited  the  event,  and  he  made  his  p  omise  good. 
He  was  one  of  the  committee  on  religion  appointed  in  1640,  by  the  House  of 
Lords,  and  one  of  the  assembly  of  divines  in  1643.  He  died  at  Dorchester, 
Eng.  21  July,  1648,  aged  72.  He  was  usually  called  "  the  patriarch  of  Dorches- 
ter," and  Wood  says,  the  puritans  "had  more  respect  for  him  than  even  for 
their  diocesan."  Mr.  John  White,  the  ejected  non-conformist,  was  his  son. 
Brooke's  Lives  of  the  Puritans,  iii.  88. 

t  Prince,  171.     Mass.  Colony  Records, 


240  JOHN    WINTHROP. 

eighteen  assistants;  and  sent  over  a  few  people  under  the 
government  of  John  Endecott,  to  carry  on  the  plantation 
at  Naumkeak,  and  prepare  for  settling  a  colony.  Ende- 
cott, on  his  arrival,  laid  the  foundations  of  Salem,  the 
first  permanent  town  in  Massachusetts. 

When  the  news  reached  London,  of  the  safe  arrival 
of  the  emigrants,  the  number  of  the  adventurers  had  been 
much  enlarged.  Interest  was  made  to  obtain  a  royal 
charter,  with  the  aid  of  Richard  Bellingham,  and  of 
White,  an  eminent  lawyer,  who  advocated  the  design. 
The  earl  of  Warwick  had  always  been  the  friend  of  the 
company ;  Gorges  had  seemed  to  favor  its  advancement, 
and  Lord  Dorchester,  then  one  of  the  secretaries  of  state, 
is  said  to  have  exerted  a  powerful  influence  in  its  behalf.* 

At  last,  on  the  fourth  of  March,  1629,  the  royal  pa- 
tent passed  the  seals,  incorporating  the  associates  as  a 
body  politic,  by  the  name  of  "  The  Governor  and  Com- 
pany of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,"  with 
as  full  powers  as  any  other  corporation  in  the  realm  of 
England.f  The  company  was  empowered  to  elect  for- 
ever, out  of  the  freemen  of  said  company,  a  governor, 
deputy  governor,  and  eighteen  assistants,  to  be  newly 
chosen  on  the  last  Wednesday  in  Easter  term  yearly,  by 
the  greater  part  of  the  company ;  and  to  make  laws  not 
repugnant  to  the  laws  of  England.     Matthew  Cradock 

*  Bancroft,  i.  342. 

t  See  charter  in  Hazard,  i.  239 — 255.  The  grantees  named  in  this  patent 
are — Sir  Henry  Roswell,  Sir  John  Yovng,  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall,  Thomas 
Southcoat,  John  Humphrey,  John  Endecott,  Simon  Whctcomb,  Isaac  Johnson, 
Samuel  Aldersley,  John  Ven,  Matthew  Cradock,  George  Harwood,  Increase 
Nowell,  Richard  Perry,  Richard  Bellingham,  Nathaniel  Wright,  Samuel  Vassall, 
Theophilus  Eaton,  Thomas  Goffe,  Thomas  Adams,  John  Browne,  Samuel 
Browne,  Thomas  Hutchins,  William  Vassall,  William  Pinchion,  George  Fox- 
croft.     [The  names  in  italics,  are  of  the  original  purchasers.] 


JOHJV    WINTHROP.  241 

was  constituted  the  first  governor,  and  Thomas  Goffe 
the  deputy  governor.  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall,  and  17 
other  persons  were  constituted  assistants. 

A  court  of  the  Massachusetts  company  was  soon  after 
holden  at  London,  and  settled  a  form  of  government 
for  the  new  colony.  It  ordained,  that  thirteen  persons, 
such  as  should  be  reputed  the  most  wise,  honest,  expert, 
and  discreet,  resident  on  the  colonial  plantation,  should, 
from  time  to  time,  have  the  sole  management  of  the  gov- 
ernment and  affairs  of  the  colony;  and  they,  to  the  best 
of  their  judgment  were  "to  endeavour  to  so  settle  the 
same,"  as  might  "make  most  to  the  glory  of  God,  the 
furtherance  and.  advancement  of  this  hopeful  plantation, 
the  comfort,  encouragement,  and  future  benefit  of  the 
company,  and  of  others,  concerned  in  the  commencement 
or  prosecution  of  the  work.  The  persons  thus  appoint- 
ed, were  to  be  entitled  "The  Governor  and  Council  of 
London's  Plantation  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  Eng- 
land."* 

Several  persons,  of  considerable  importance  in  the 
English  nation,  were  now  enlisted  among  the  adventur- 
ers, who,  for  the  unmolested  enjoyment  of  their  religion, 
were  resolved  to  remove  into  Massachusetts.  Foresee- 
ing, however,  and  dreading  the  inconvenience  of  being 
governed  by  laws  made  for  them  without  their  own  con- 
sent, they  judged  it  more  reasonable,  that  the  colony 
should  be  ruled  by  men  residing  in  the  plantation,  than 
by  those  dwelling  at  a  distance  of  three  thousand  miles, 
and  over  whom  they  should  have  no  control.  At  a  meet- 
ing of  the  company  on  the  28th  of  July,  Matthew  Cra- 
dock,  the  governor,  proposed  that  the  charter  should  be 

*  Hazard,  i.  268— 271. 

31 


242  JOHN    WINTHROP. 

transferred  to  those  of  the  freemen  who  should  become 
inhabitants  of  the  colony,  and  the  powers  conferred  by 
it,  be  executed  for  the  future  in  New  England.  An 
agreement  was  accordingly  made  at  Cambridge,  in  Eng- 
land, on  the  26th  of  August,  between  Sir  Richard  Salton- 
stall,  Thomas  Dudley,  Isaac  Johnson,  John  Winthrop, 
and  a  few  others,  that,  on  those  conditions  they  would 
be  ready  the  ensuing  March,  with  their  persons  and  fam- 
ilies, to  embark  for  New  England,  for  the  purpose  of 
settling  in  the  country.*  The  governor  and  company, 
entirely  disposed  to  promote  the  measure,  called  a  gener- 
al court;  at  which  the  deputy  governor  stated,  that  sev- 
eral gentlemen,  intending  to  go  to  New  England,  were 
desirous  to  know  whether  the  chief  government  with  the 
patent  would  be  settled  in  Old  or  New  England.  This 
question  caused  a  serious  debate.  The  court  was  ad- 
journed to  the  next  day,  when  it  was  decreed  that  the 
government  and  the  patent  of  the  plantation  should  be 
transferred  from  London  to  Massachusetts  Bay.  An  or- 
der was  drawn  up  for  that  purpose,  in  pursuance  of 
which,  a  court  was  holden  on  the  20th  of  October,  for  a 
new  election  of  officers,  who  would  be  willing  to  remove 
with  their  families ;  and  "  the  court  having  received  ex- 
traordinary great  commendation  of  Mr.  John  Winthrop, 
both  for  his  integrity  and  sufficiency,  as  being  one  very 
well  fitted  for  the  place,  with  a  full  consent  chose  him 
governor  for  the  year  ensuing." 

It  is  evident  from  the  charter,  that  the  original  design 
of  it  was  to  constitute  a  corporation  in  England,  like  to 
that  of  the  East  India  and  other  great  companies,  with 

*  See,  in  Hutch.  Coll.  25,  26,  "  The  true  coppie  of  the  agreements  at  Cam- 
bridge, August  26, 1629."     • 


JOHN    WINTHROP.  243 

power  to  settle  plantations  within  the  limits  of  the  ter- 
ritory, under  such  forms  of  government  and  magistracy  as 
should  be  fit  and  necessary.  The  first  step  in  sending 
out  Mr.  Endecott,  appointing  him  a  council,  giving  him 
a  commission,  instructions,  &c.  was  agreeable  to  this 
construction  of  the  charter.* 

The  emigrants  to  Massachusetts  had  no  special  war- 
rant of  toleration;  they  had  not  even  the  promise  of 
connivance,  which  the  pilgrims  ten  years  before  had  ex- 
torted from  James  I.  The  charter  does  not  once  men- 
tion liberty  of  conscience  or  toleration ;  though  one  his- 
torianf  has  inadvertently  stated,  that  "  free  liberty  of 
conscience  was  likewise  granted  to  all  who  should  settle 
in  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  to  worship  God  in  their  own 
way ;"  and  another|  that  "  the  charter  granted  toleration 
to  all  christians  except  papists."  At  the  distance  of 
three  thousand  miles,  however,  across  the  ocean,  they 
felt  themselves  safe,  beyond  the  reach  of  the  archbishop 
and  high  commission  courts. 

Preparations  were  now  made  for  the  removal  of  a 
large  number  of  colonists,  and  in  the  spring  of  1630,  a 
fleet  of  fourteen  sail  was  got  ready.  Mr.  Winthrop  having 
by  the  consent  of  all  been  chosen  for  their  leader,  imme- 
diately set  about  making  preparations  for  his  departure. 
He  converted  a  fine  estate  of  six  or  seven  hundred 
pounds  per  annum  into  money,  and  in  March  embarked 
on  board  the  Arbella,  one  of  the  principal  ships. 

Before  leaving  Yarmouth,  an  address  to  their  fathers 
and  brethren  remaining  in  England,  was  drawn  up,  and 

*  Hutchinson's  Hist.  Colony  Mass.  Bay,  13. 
t  Neal's  Hist,  of  the  Puritans,  4to.  i.  544. 
t  Hutchinson. 


244  JOHN    WINTHROP. 

subscribed  on  the  7th  April,  by  Governor  Winthrop 
and  others,  breathing  an  affectionate  farewell  to  the  church 
of  England,  and  their  native  land.  "  Wee  are  not  of 
those  that  dream  of  perfection  in  this  world;  yet  wee 
desire  you  would  be  pleased  to  take  notice  of  the  princi- 
pals and  body  of  our  company,  as  those  who  esteem  it 
our  honor  to  call  the  Church  of  England,  whence  wee 
rise,  our  deare  Mother,  and  cannot  part  from  our  native 
Countrie,  where  she  especially  resideth,  without  much 
sadness  of  heart,  and  many  tears  in  our  eyes,  ever  acknowl- 
edging that  such  hope  and  part  as  we  here  obtain  in  the 
common  salvation,  wee  have  received  in  her  bosome, 
and  suckt  it  from  her  breast :  wee  leave  it  not  therefore, 
as  loathing  that  milk  wherewith  wee  were  nourished 
there,  but  blessing  God  for  the  parentage  and  education, 
as  members  of  the  same  body,  shall  always  rejoice  in  her 
good,  and  unfainedly  grieve  for  any  sorrow  that  shall  ever 
betide  her."* 

In  the  same  ship  with  Governor  Winthrop,  came 
Thomas  Dudley,  who  had  been  chosen  deputy  governor 
after  the  embarkation,!  and  several  other  gentlemen  of 
wealth  and  quality;  the  fleet  containing  about  840  pas- 
sengers, of  various  occupations,  some  of  whom  were 
from  the  west  of  England,  but  most  from  the  neighbor- 
hood of  London. — The  fleet  sailed  early  in  April;  and 
the  Arbella  arrived  off  Cape  Anne,  on  Friday,  the  11th 
June,  and  on  the  following  day  entered  the  harbor  of 
Salem. 

#  See  App.  No.  I,  Hutch.  Colony  Mass.  Bay,  487. 

f  Dudley  was  chosen  at  a  meeting  held  on  board  the  Arbella,  on  the  23d 
March,  in  place  of  Humphrey  who  remained  in  England.  Prince  says  this 
•lection  "  is  the  last  record  of  the  Massachusetts  Company  in  England." 


JOHN    WINTHROP. 


245 


A  few  days  after  their  arrival,  the  governor,  and 
several  of  the  principal  persons  of  the  colony,  made  an 
excursion  some  twenty  miles  along  the  bay,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  selecting  a  convenient  site  for  a  town.  They 
finally  pitched  down  on  the  north  side  of  Charles  river, 
(Charlestown,)  and  took  lodgings  in  the  great  house 
built  there  the  preceding  year;  the  rest  of  the  company 
erected  cottages,  booths  and  tents  for  present  accommoda- 
tion, about  the  town  hill.  Their  place  of  assembling  for 
divine  service,  was  under  a  spreading  tree.  On  the  8th 
of  July,  a  day  of  thanksgiving  was  kept  for  the  safe  ar- 
rival of  the  fleet.  On  the  30th  of  the  same  month,  after 
a  day  of  solemn  prayer  and  fasting,  the  foundation  of  a 
church  was  laid  at  Charlestown,  afterwards  the  first 
church  of  Boston,  and  Governor  Winthrop,  Deputy 
Governor  Dudley,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wilson,  entered 
into  church  covenant.  The  first  court  of  assistants  was 
held  at  Charlestown,  on  the  23d  of  August,  and  the  first 
question  proposed,  was  a  suitable  provision  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  gospel. 

Towards  the  close  of  autumn,  Governor  Winthrop 
and  most  of  the  assistants  removed  to  the  peninsula  of 
Shawmut,  (Boston,)  and  lived  there  the  first  winter,  in- 
tending in  the  spring  to  build  a  fortified  town,  but  unde- 
termined as  to  its  situation.  On  the  sixth  of  December, 
they  resolved  to  fortify  the  isthmus  of  that  peninsula ; 
but,  changing  their  minds  before  the  month  expired,  they 
agreed  upon  a  place  about  three  miles  above  Charles- 
town, which  they  called  first  Newtown,  and  afterwards 
Cambridge,  where  they  engaged  to  build  houses  the  en- 
suing spring.  The  rest  of  the  winter  they  suffered 
much  by  the  severity  of  the  season,  and  were  obliged  to 


246  JOHN    WINTHROP. 

live  upon  acorns,  groundnuts,  and  shellfish.  One  of  the 
poorer  sort,  coming  to  the  governor  to  complain,  was 
told  that  the  last  batch  was  in  the  oven  ;  but  of  this  he 
had  his  share.*  They  had  appointed  the  6th  of  Febru- 
ry  for  a  fast,  in  consequence  of  their  alarm  for  the  safety 
of  a  ship  which  had  been  sent  to  Ireland  for  provisions ; 
but  fortunately  the  vessel  arrived  on  the  5th,  and  they 
ordered  a  public  thanksgiving  instead  thereof,  to  be  kept 
on  the  22d  of  the  same  month. 

In  the  spring  of  1631,  in  pursuance  of  the  intended 
plan,  the  governor  set  up  the  frame  of  a  house  at  New- 
town ;  the  deputy  governor  also  erected  one  there,  and 
removed  with  his  family.  The  town  was  taken  under  the 
patronage  of  the  government,  and  deemed  a  fit  place  to 
be  fortified.  But  about  this  time,  Chickatabot,!  the  chief 
of  the  neighboring  Indians  of  Neponset,  made  a  visit  to  the 
governor,  with  voluntary  professions  of  friendship.  Gov- 
ernor Winthrop  thus  describes  his  first  interview  with 
this  chief,  under  the  date  of  March  23,  1631; — 
"  Chickatabot  came  with  his  sannups  (chiefs)  and  squaws, 
and  presented  the  governor  with  a  hogshead  of  Indian 
corn.  After  they  had  all  dined,  and  had  each  a  small 
cup  of  sack  and  beer,  and  the  men  tobacco,  he  sent  away 
all  his  men  and  women  (though  the  governor  would  have 

*  "  And  when  people's  wants  were  great,  not  only  in  one  town  but  in  divers 
towns,  such  was  the  godly  wisdom,  care  and  prudence  (not  selfishness  but  self- 
denial,)  of  our  Governor  Winthrop  and  his  assistants,  that  when  a  ship  came 
laden  with  provisions,  they  order  that  the  whole  cargo  should  be  bought  for 
a  general  stock  ;  and  so  accordingly  it  was,  and  distribution  was  made  to 
every  town,  and  to  every  person  in  each  town,  as  every  man  had  need." — Me- 
moirs of  Capt.  Roger  Clap,  p.  15. 

t  See  note  respecting  this  savage,  in  Life  of  Bradford,  p.  58.  Chikkatabak 
was  one  of  the  nine  sachems  who  signed  an  instrument  of  submission  to  the 
English  at  New  Plymouth,  13  Sept.,  1621.  Drake  writes  his  name  Chicka- 
taubut;  Winthrop,  Chickatabot,  as  in  the  text. 


JOHN    WINTHROP.  247 

stayed  them  in  regard  of  the  rain  and  thunder. )  Himself 
and  one  squaw  and  one  sannup  stayed  all  night ;  and  be- 
ing in  English  clothes,  the  governor  set  him  at  his  own 
table,  where  he  behaved  himself  as  soberly,  &c,  as  an 
Englishman.  The  next  day  after  dinner  he  returned 
home,  the  governor  giving  him  cheese,  and  pease,  and 
a  mug,  and  other  small  things."* 

The  apprehension  of  danger  from  the  Indians  abated, 
and  the  scheme  of  a  fortified  town  was  gradually  laid 
aside ;  though,  if  it  hjad  been  retained,  the  peninsula 
would  have  been  a  situation  far  preferable  to  Newtown. 
The  governor  took  down  his  frame,  and  in  October, 
1631,  removed  it  to  Shawmut,  which  was  finally  deter- 
mined upon  for  the  metropolis,  and  named  Boston. 

The  three  following  years  he  was  continued,  by 
annual  election,  at  the  head  of  the  government,  for  which 
office  he  was  eminently  qualified,  and  in  which  he  shone 
with  a  lustre  that  would  have  done  him  honor  in  a 
larger  sphere  and  a  more  elevated  situation.  He  was 
the  father,  as  well  as  governor,  of  the  plantation.  His 
time,  his  study,  his  exertions,  his  influence,  and  his  in- 
terest, were  all  employed  in  the  public  service.  His  wis- 
dom, patience  and  magnanimity  were  conspicuous  in  the 
most  severe  trials,  and  his  exemplary  behavior  as  a  chris- 
tian, added  a  splendor  to  all  his  rare  qualifications.  He 
maintained  the  dignity  of  a  governor,  with  the  obliging 
condescension  of  a  gentleman,  and  was  so  deservedly  re- 
spected and  beloved,  that  when  Archbishop  Laud,  heark- 
ening to  some  calumnies  raised  against  the  country,  on 
account  of  their  Puritan  principles,  summoned  one  Mr. 
Cleaves  before  King  Charles  I.,  in  hopes  of  getting  some 

*  Winthrop's  Journal,  i.  48. 


248  JOHN    WINTHROP. 

accusation  against  the  governor,  he  gave  such  an  account 
of  his  laudable  deportment  in  his  station,  and  withal,  of 
the  devotion  with  which  prayers  were  made,  both  in 
private  and  public,  for  the  King,  that  Charles  expressed 
his  concern  that  so  worthy  a  gentleman  as  Mr.  Winthrop 
should  be  no  better  accommodated  than  in  an  American 
wilderness. 

He  was  an  example  to  the  people,  of  that  frugality, 
decency,  and  temperance,  which  were  necessary  in  their 
circumstances,  and  even  denied  himself  many  of  the  ele- 
gances and  superfluities  of  life,  which  his  rank  and  for- 
tune gave  him  a  just  title  to  enjoy,  both  that  he  might 
set  them  a  proper  example,  and  be  the  better  enabled  to 
exercise  that  liberality  in  which  he  delighted,  even,  in 
the  end,  to  the  actual  impoverishment  of  himself  and  his 
family.  An  instance  is  recorded  in  his  Journal  :*  "The 
governor,  upon  consideration  of  the  inconveniences  which 
had  grown  in  England  by  drinking  one  to  another,  re- 
strained it  at  his  own  table,  and  wished  others  to  do  the 
like,  so  as  it  grew,  by  little  and  little,  to  disuse." 

The  following  anecdote,  related  in  his  Journal,  under 
date  of  the  11  Oct.  1631,  will  serve  to  show  the  accom- 
modations which  were  sometimes  found  in  the  wilder- 
ness :  "  The  governor,  being  at  his  farm-house  at  Mis- 
tick,  (Medford,)  walked  out  after  supper,  and  took  a 
piece  in  his  hand,  supposing  he  might  see  a  wolf,  (for 
they  came  daily  about  the  house,  and  killed  swine, 
calves,  &c.)  and,  being  about  half  a  mile  off,  it  grew 
suddenly  dark,  so  as  in  coming  home,  he  mistook  his 
path,  and  went  till  he  came  to  a  little  house  of  Sagamore 
John,  which  stood  empty  ;   there  he  stayed,  and  having 

t  Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  37. 


JOHN    WINTHROP.  249 

a  match  in  his  pocket,  (for  he  always  carried  about  his 
match  and  compass,)  he  made  a  good  fire  and  warmed 
the  house,  and  lay  down  upon  some  old  mats  he  found 
there  and  so  spent  the  night,  sometimes  walking  by  the  fire, 
sometimes  singing  psalms,  and  sometimes  getting  wood, 
but  could  not  sleep.  It  was  a  warm  night ;  but  a  little 
before  day  it  began  to  rain,  and,  having  no  cloak,  he 
made  shift  by  a  long  pole  to  climb  up  into  the  house. 
In  the  morning  there  came  thither  an  Indian  squaw ;  but, 
perceiving  her  before  she  had  opened  the  door,  he 
barred  her  out ;  yet  she  stayed  there  a  great  while, 
essaying  to  get  in,  and  at  last  she  went  away,  and  he 
returned  safe  home,  his  servant  having  been  much  per- 
plexed for  him,  and  having  walked  about,  and  shot  off 
pieces,  and  hallooed  in  the  night,  but  he  heard  them 
not."*  Governor  Winthrop  would  often  send  his  ser- 
vants on  some  errand,  at  meal-times,  to  the  houses  of  his 
neighbors,  to  see  how  they  were  provided  with  food; 
and  if  there  was  a  deficiency,  would  supply  them  from 
his  own  table. 

The  following  singular  instance  of  his  charity,  mixed 
with  humor,  will  give  us  an  idea  of  the  man.  In  a 
very  severe  winter,  when  wood  began  to  be  scarce  in 
Boston,  he  received  private  information,  that  a  neigh- 
bor was  wont  to  help  himself  from  the  pile  at  his  door. 
"  Does  he?"  said  the  Governor;  "call  him  to  me,  and  I 
will  take  a  course  with  him  that  shall  cure  him  of  steal- 
ing." The  man  appeared,  and  the  Governor  addressed 
him  thus  :  "  Friend,  it  is  a  cold  winter,  and  I  hear  you 
are  meanly  provided  with  wood ;  you  are  welcome  to 
help  yourself  at  my  pile  till  the  winter  is  over;"  and 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  62. 

32 


250  JOHN    WINTHROP. 

then  he  merrily  asked  his  friend  whether  he  had  not  put 
a  stop  to  the  man's  stealing. 

In  the  administration  of  justice,  he  was  for  temper- 
ing the  severity  of  law  with  the  exercise  of  mercy.  He 
judged  that  in  the  infancy  of  a  plantation,  justice  should 
be  administered  with  more  lenity  than  in  a  settled  state. 

Complaints  of  the  liberal  spirit  of  Governor  Winthrop 
were  made  at  a  meeting  of  some  of  the  leading  men  of 
the  colony,  in  January,  1636  ;  when  Mr.  Haynes,  then 
governor,  charged  that  Mr.  Winthrop,  while  in  office, 
had  "  dealt  too  remissly  in  point  of  justice."  Winthrop 
replied,  that  his  conduct  had  been  in  part  misunderstood, 
but  "  that  it  was  his  judgment,  that  in  the  infancy  of 
plantations,  justice  should  be  administered  with  more 
lenity  than  in  a  settled  state,  because  people  were  then 
more  apt  to  transgress,  partly  of  ignorance  of  new  laws  and 
orders,  partly  through  oppression  of  business,  and  other 
straits."  He  professed  himself  ready,  however,  on  being 
convinced  of  error,  to  take  up  a  stricter  course.  The 
ministers  were  then  called  on  for  advice  in  the  case,  who 
all  decided  "  that  strict  discipline,  both  in  criminal  offences 
and  martial  affairs,  was  more  needful  in  plantations  than  in 
a  settled  state,  as  tending  to  the  honor  and  safety  of  the 
gospel."  Whereupon  Mr.  Winthrop  acknowledged  that 
he  was  convinced  that  he  had  failed  in  over  much  leni- 
ty, and  submitted  to  their  judgment,  strictly  adhering 
thereafter  to  the  proposals  which  were  made  to  support 
the  dignity  of  government,  by  an  appearance  of  union 
and  firmness,  and  a  concealment  of  differences  and  dis- 
sensions among  the  public  officers.  Dr.  Savage,  remark- 
ing upon  this  passage  in  the  life  of  Governor  Winthrop, 
says — "  When  the  administration  of  Winthrop  was  im- 


JOHN    WINTHROP. 


251 


peached  by  Governor  Haynes,  for  too  great  lenity,  it 
seems  natural,  that  such  severe  tempers  as  Dudley,  and 
Vane,  and  Peter,  should  unite  in  the  attack  ;  and  as  the 
rest  of  the  clergy  probably  agreed  with  their  ardent 
brother  Peter,  the  maxims  of  the  first  governor  of  the  col- 
ony would  be  overruled ;  but  when  their  united  influences 
were  strong  enough  to  compel  him  to  acknowledge  his 
remissness  in  discipline,  we  are  bound,  as  in  our  early 
history  we  often  are,  to  lament  the  undue  dictation  of  the 
church."* 

His  delicacy  was  so  great,  that  though  he  could  not, 
without  incivility,  decline  accepting  gratuities  from  divers 
towns,  as  well  as  particular  persons,  for  his  public  ser- 
vices, yet  he  took  occasion,  in  a  public  speech  at  his 
third  election,  in  1632,  to  declare  that  "he  received  them 
with  a  trembling  heart  in  regard  of  God's  rule  and  the 
consciousness  of  his  own  infirmity,"  and  desired  them 
that  for  the  future  they  would  not  be  offended,  if  he 
should  wholly  refuse  such  presents.  "To  which  no 
answer  was  made,  but  he  was  told  after,  that  many  good 
people  were  much  grieved  at  it,  for  that  he  never  had 
any  allowance  towards  the  charge  of  his  place."! 

In  the  year  1634,  and  the  two  years  following,  he  was 
left  out  of  the  magistracy.}:  Though  his  conduct,  from 
his  first  engaging  in  the  service  of  the  colony,  had  been 
irreproachable,  yet  the  envy  of  some  raised  a  suspicion 
of  his  fidelity,  and  gave  him  a  small  taste  of  what,  in  other 
popular  governments,  their  greatest  benefactors  have 
had  a  large  share  of.     An  inquiry  having  been  made  of 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  179,  note, 
t  Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  77. 

t  In  1634,  Thomas  Dudley  was  chosen  governor;  in  1635,  John  Haynes; 
and  in  1636,  Henry  Vane. 


252  JOHN    WINTHROP. 

his  receipts  and  disbursements  of  the  public  money  during 
his  past  administration,  though  it  was  conducted  in  a 
manner  too  harsh  for  his  delicate  sensibility,  yet  he  pa- 
tiently submitted  to  the  examination  of  his  accounts, 
which  ended  to  his  honor.  Upon  which  occasion  he 
made  a  declaration,  which  concluded  in  these  words : 
"In  all  these  things  which  I  offer,  I  refer  myself  to  the 
wisdom  and  justice  of  the  court,  with  this  protestation, 
that  it  repenteth  me  not  of  my  cost  and  labour  bestowed 
in  the  service  of  this  commonwealth ;  but  I  do  heartily 
bless  the  Lord  our  God,  that  he  hath  been  pleased  to 
honor  me  so  far  as  to  call  for  any  thing  he  hath  bestow- 
ed upon  me,  for  the  service  of  his  Church  and  people 
here ;  the  prosperity  whereof,  and  his  gracious  accept- 
ance, shall  be  an  abundant  recompense  to  me."  In  a 
spirit  of  innocence  and  in  the  pride  of  just  self-respect, 
he  adds  the  particular  request,  that  "as  it  stands  upon 
record  that  upon  the  discharge  of  my  office  I  was  called 
to  account,  so  this  my  declaration  may  be  recorded  also, 
lest  hereafter,  when  I  shall  be  forgotten,  some  blemish 
may  lie  upon  my  posterity,  when  there  be  nothing  to 
clear  it,"* 

The  same  rare  humility  and  steady  equality  of  mind 
were  conspicuous  in  his  behavior,  when  a  pretence  was 
raised  to  get  him  left  out  of  the  government,  lest,  by  the 
too  frequent  choice  of  one  man,  the  office  should  cease 
to  be  elective,  and  seem  to  be  his  by  prescription.  This 
pretence  was  advanced  even  in  the  election  sermons,  and 
when  he  was  in  fact  reduced  to  a  lower  station  in  the 
government,  and  endeavored  to  serve  the  people  as  faith- 
fully as  in  the  highest ;  nor  would  he  suffer  any  notice  to 

*  Hutchinson's  Coll.  Mass.  Bay,  41. 


JOHN    WINTHROP.  253 

be  taken  of  some  undue  methods  which  were  used  to 
have  him  left  out  of  the  choice.* 

An  instance  of  this  rare  temper,  and  the  happy  fruit 
of  it,  deserve  remembrance.  There  was  a  time  when 
he  received  a  very  angry  letter  from  a  member  of  the 
Court,  which  having  read,  he  delivered  back  to  the  mes- 
senger, with  this  answer :  "  I  am  not  willing  to  keep 
such  an  occasion  of  provocation  by  me."  Shortly  after, 
the  writer  of  this  letter,  (Thomas  Dudley,)  was  compel- 
led, by  the  scarcity  of  provision,  to  send  to  buy  one  of  the 
governor's  fat  hogs.  He  begged  him  to  accept  it  as  a 
gift,  in  token  of  his  good  will.  Gn  which  the  gentle- 
man came  to  him  with  this  acknowledgment :  "  Sir,  your 
overcoming  yourself,  hath  overcome  me."  The  deputy 
governor  Dudley  was  of  a  choleric  temper,  and  frequently 
got  into  controversy  with  Governor  Winthrop ;  but  the 
latter,  using  the  weapons  most  effectual  with  passionate 
men,  generally  conquered  with  kindness. 

But  though  condescending  and  gentle  on  every  occa- 
sion of  personal  ill  treatment,  yet,  where  the  honor  of 
government  or  religion,  and  the  interest  of  the  people, 
were  concerned,  he  was  equally  firm  and  intrepid,  stand- 
ing foremost  in  opposition  to  those  whom  he  judged  to  be 
really  public  enemies,  though  in  the  disguise  of  warm 
and  zealous  friends. 

Of  this  number  was  the  famous  Anne  Hutchinson, 
a  woman  of  masculine  understanding  and  consummate 
art,  who  held  private  lectures  to  the  women  at  her  house, 

*  This  probably  refers  to  the  election  of  Bellingham  in  1641.  He  had  six 
more  votes  than  the  other  candidates,  "but  some  votes  were  refused  by  the 
magistrates  because  they  had  not  given  them  in  at  the  doors.  But  others," 
says  Winthrop  (ii.,  35,)  "thought  it  was  an  injury,  yet  were  silent,  because  it 
concerned  themselves." 


254  JOHN    WINTHROP. 

in  which  she  advanced  these  doctrines,  viz. :  "  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  dwells  personal!;/  in  a  justified  person,  and 
that  sanctification  does  not  evidence  justification."  Those 
who  held  with  her,  were  said  to  be  "under  a  covenant 
of  grace,"  and  those  who  opposed  her,  "  under  a  cove- 
nant of  works."* 

Into  these  two  denominations,  the  whole  colony  be- 
gan to  be  divided.  Her  adherents  prevailed  in  1636  to 
choose  for  governor  Henry  Vane,f  a  young  gentleman 
of  an  apparently  grave  and  serious  deportment,  who  had 
just  arrived  from  England,  and  who  paid  great  attention 
to  this  woman,  and  seemed  zealously  attached  to  her  dis- 
tinguishing tenets.  Winthrop,  then  deputy-governor, 
not  only  differed  in  sentiment,  but  saw  the  pernicious  in- 
fluence of  this  controversy  with  regret,  and  feared  that, 

*  Neal  gives  the  origin  of  the  controversy  in  the  following  words:  "The 
members  of  the  church  at  Boston,  used  to  meet  once  a  week,  to  repeat  the  ser- 
mons they  heard  on  the  Lord's  Day,  and  to  debate  on  the  doctrines  contained 
in  them.  Those  meetings  being  peculiar  to  the  men,  some  of  the  zealous  women 
thought  it  might  be  useful  to  them.  One  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  a  gentlewoman  of 
a  bold  and  masculine  spirit,  and  a  great  admirer  of  Mr.  Cotton,  set  up  one  at 
her  house.  She  taught  that  believers  in  Christ  are  personally  united  to  the 
Spirit  of  God  ;  that  commands  to  work  out  our  salvation  with  fear  and  trem- 
bling, belong  to  none  but  such  as  are  under  the  covenant  of  works  ;  that  sanc- 
tification is  not  good  evidence  of  a  good  estate.  She  likewise  set  up  immedi- 
ate revelation  about  future  events,  to  be  believed  as  equally  infallible  with  the 
Scriptures;  and  a  great  many  other  opinions  and  fancies,  which,  under  a  pre- 
tence of  exalting  the  free  grace  of  God,  destroyed  the  practical  part  of  reli- 
gion."    Neal's  Hist.,  c.  5.  p.  166. 

t  This  person,  so  well  known  afterward  in  England,  is  thus  characterized  by 
Lord  Clarendon  : 

"A  man  of  great  natural  parts  and  of  very  profound  dissimulation,  of  a 
quick  conception,  and  ready,  sharp,  and  weighty  expression.  He  had  an  unu- 
sual aspect,  a  vultum  clausum,  that,  though  no  man  could  make  a  guess  of  what 
he  intended,  yet  made  men  think  there  was  something  in  him  extraordinary, 
and  his  whole  life  made  good  that  imagination.  There  need  no  more  be  said 
of  his  ability  than  he  was  chosen  to  cozen  and  deceive  a  whole  nation  [the 
Scots]  which  was  thought  to  excel  in  craft  and  cunning,  which  he  did  with  a 
notable  pregnancy  and  dexterity." 


JOHN    WINTHROP.  255 

if  it  were  suffered  to  prevail,  it  would  endanger  the  ex- 
istence of  the  colony.  In  the  heat  of  the  controversy, 
Wheelwright,  a  zealous  sectarian,  preached  a  sermon, 
which  not  only  carried  these  points  to  their  utmost 
length,  but  contained  some  expressions  which  the  court 
laid  hold  of  as  tending  to  sedition,  for  which  he  was  ex- 
amined ;  but  a  more  full  inquiry  was  deferred  for  that 
time.  Some  warm  brethren,  of  Boston,  petitioned  the 
court  in  Wheelwright's  favor,  reflecting  on  their  pro- 
ceedings, which  raised  such  a  resentment  in  the  court 
against  the  town,  that  a  motion  was  made  for  the  next 
election  to  be  made  at  Cambridge.  Vane,  the  governor, 
having  no  negative  voice,  could  only  show  his  dislike  by 
refusing  to  put  the  question.  Winthrop,  the  deputy- 
governor,  declined  it,  as  being  an  inhabitant  of  Boston  ; 
the  question  was  then  put  by  Endecott  of  Salem,  and 
carried  for  the  removal. 

At  the  opening  of  the  election,  (May  17,  1637,)  a 
petition  was  again  presented  by  many  inhabitants  of 
Boston,  which  Vane  would  have  read  previous  to  the 
choice.  Winthrop,  who  clearly  saw  that  this  was  a  con- 
trivance to  throw  all  into  confusion,  and  spend  the  day  in 
debate,  that  the  election  might  be  prevented  for  that 
time,  opposed  the  reading  of  the  petition  until  the  elec- 
tion should  be  over.  Vane  and  his  party  were  strenuous, 
but  Winthrop  called  to  the  people  to  divide,  and  the  ma- 
jority appeared  for  the  election.  Vane  still  refused,  till 
Winthrop  said  they  would  proceed  without  him,  which 
obliged  him  to  submit.  The  election  was  carried  in  fa- 
vor of  Winthrop  and  his  friends.  The  sergeants,  who 
had  waited  on  Vane  to  the  place  of  election,  threw  down 
their  halberds,  and  refused  to  attend  the  newly-elected 


256  JOHN    WIJVTHROP. 

governor :  he  took  no  other  notice  of  the  affront  than  to 
order  his  own  servants  to  bear  them  before  him ;  and 
when  the  people  expressed  their  resentment,  he  begged 
them  to  overlook  the  matter.* 

The  town  of  Boston  being  generally  in  favor  of  the 
new  opinions,  the  governor  grew  unpopular  there,  and 
a  law  which  was  passed  in  this  year  of  his  restoration  to 
office,  increased  their  dislike.  Many  persons  who  were 
supposed  to  favor  these  opinions  were  expected  from 
England,  to  prevent  whose  settlement  in  the  country  the 
court  laid  a  penalty  on  all  who  should  entertain  any  stran- 
gers, or  allow  them  the  use  of. any  house  or  lot  above 
three  weeks,  without  liberty  first  granted.  This  severe 
order  was  so  ill  received  in  Boston,  that,  on  the  gover- 
nor's return  from  the  court  at  Cambridge,  they  all  re- 
fused to  go  out  to  meet  him,  or  show  him  any  token  of 
respect.  The  other  towns  on  this  occasion  increased 
their  respect  towards  him,  and  the  same  summer,  in  a 
journey  to  Ipswich,  he  was  guarded  from  town  to  town 
with  more  ceremony  than  he  desired. 

The  same  year  a  synod  was  called  (30  August,  1637,) 
to  determine  on  the  controverted  points,  in  which  assem- 
bly, Winthrop,  though  he  did  not  preside,  yet,  as  head  of 
the  civil  magistracy,  was  obliged  often  to  interpose  his 
authority,  which  he  did  with  wisdom  and  gravity,  silenc- 
ing passionate  and  impertinent  speakers,  desiring  that 

*  Hutchinson  tells  the  anecdote,  that  Rev.  Mr.  Wilson,  the  minister,  in  his 
zeal,  upon  this  occasion,  got  upon  the  bough  of  a  tree,  (it  being  hot  weather, 
and  the  election  like  that  of  parliament-men  being  carried  on  in  the  field,)  and 
there  made  a  speech,  advising  the  people  to  look  to  their  charter,  and  to  consi- 
der the  present  work  of  the  day,  which  was  designed  for  the  choosing  the  gov- 
ernor, deputy  governor,  and  the  rest  of  the  assistants  for  the  government  of  the 
commonwealth.  His  speech  was  well  received  by  the  people,  who  cried  out 
"election  !  election  !  "  which  turned  the  scale. 


JOHN    WINTHROP.  257 

the  Divine  Oracles  might  be  allowed  to  express  their 
own  meaning^  and  be  appealed  to  for  a  decision  of  the 
controversy ;  and  when  he  saw  heat  and  passion  prevail 
in  the  assembly,  he  would  adjourn  it,  that  time  might  be 
allowed  for  cool  consideration,  by  which  prudent  manage- 
ment the  synod,  after  a  session  of  three  weeks,  came  to 
an  amicable  agreement  in  condemning  the  errors  of  the 
day.  Eighty-two  opinions,  imputed  to  the  followers 
of  Cotton  and  Wheelwright,  were  condemned  as  erro- 
neous.* But  the  work  was  not  wholly  done  until  the 
erroneous  persons  were  themselves  banished  the  colony. 
Wheelwright,  Aspinwall,  Anne  Hutchinson  and  others 
were  accordingly  banished — this  act  of  severity  being 
deemed  necessary  to  preserve  the  peace  of  the  common- 
wealth. Toleration  had  not  then  been  introduced  into  any 
of  the  protestant  countries,  and  the  wisest  and  best  men 
were  afraid  of  it,  as  the  parent  of  error  and  mischief. 

Some  of  the  zealous  opinionists  in  the  Church  of  Bos- 
ton, would  have  had  the  elders  proceed  against  the  gov- 
ernor in  the  way  of  ecclesiastical  discipline,  for  his  activ- 
ity in  procuring  the  sentence  of  banishment  on  their 
brethren.  Upon  this  occasion,  to  excuse  himself,  and 
"prevent  such  a  public  disorder,"  in  a  well-judged  speech 
to  the  congregation,  he  told  them  that,  though  in  his 
private  capacity  it  was  his  duty  to  submit  to  the  censure 
of  his  brethren,  yet  he  was  not  amenable  to  them  for  his 
conduct  as  a  magistrate,  even  though  it  were  unjust.  That 
in  the  present  case  he  had  acted  according  to  his  con- 

*  Those  who  have  the  curiosity  to  look  at  the  jargon  of  opinions  deemed  by 
our  fathers  to  be  heretical,  are  referred  to  Welde's  "  Short  Story  of  the  Rise, 
Reign  and  Ruin  of  Antinomians,  Familists,  and  Libertines,  that  infested  the 
Churches  of  New  England,"  published  in  London,  1644. 

33 


258  JOHN    WINTHKOP. 

science  and  his  oath,  and  by  the  advice  of  the  elders  of 
the  Church,  and  was  fully  satisfied  that  it  would  not  have 
been  consistent  with  the  public  peace  to  have  done  oth- 
erwise. These  reasons  satisfied  the  uneasy  brethren ; 
and  his  general  condescending  and  obliging  deportment 
so  restored  him  to  their  affections,  that  he  was  held  in 
greater  esteem  than  before ;  as  a  proof  of  this,  some  years 
afterwards,  upon  occasion  of  a  loss  which  he  had  sustain- 
ed in  his  temporal  estate,  they  made  him  a  present 
amounting  to  several  hundred  pounds. 

A  warm  dispute  having  arisen  in  the  General  Court, 
concerning  the  negative  voice  of  the  Upper  House,  the 
governor  published  his  sentiments  in  writing,  some  pas- 
sages of  which  giving  great  offence,  he  took  occasion  at* 
the  next  meeting  of  the  court,  in  a  public  speech,  to  tell 
them  "  that,  as  to  the  matter  of  his  writing,  it  was  accord- 
ing to  his  judgment,  which  was  not  at  his  own  dispo- 
sal, and  that,  having  examined  it  by  the  rules  of  reason, 
religion,  and  custom,  he  saw  no  cause  to  retract  it ;  but 
as  for  the  manner,  which  was  wholly  his  own,  he  was 
ready  to  acknowledge  whatever  was  blameable.  He  said 
that,  though  what  he  wrote  was  on  great  provocation, 
and  to  vindicate  himself  and  others  from  unjust  aspersion, 
yet  he  ought  not  to  have  allowed  a  distemper  of  spirit, 
nor  to  have  been  so  free  with  the  reputation  of  his  breth- 
ren ;  that  he  might  have  maintained  his  cause  without 
casting  any  reflections  on  them,  and  that  he  perceived  an 
unbecoming  pride  and  arrogancy  in  some  of  his  expres- 
sions, for  which  he  desired  forgiveness  of  God  and  man." 
By  this  condescending  spirit,  he  greatly  endeared  himself 
to  his  friends,  and  his  enemies  were  ashamed  of  their 
opposition. 


JOHN    WINTHROP.  259 

He  had  not  so  high  an  opinion  of  a  democratic  gov- 
ernment as  some  other  gentlemen  of  equal  wisdom  and 
goodness,  but  "  plainly  perceived  a  danger  in  referring 
matters  of  council  and  judicature  to  the  body  of  the  peo- 
ple ;"  and  when  those  who  had  removed  to  Connecticut 
were  about  forming  their  government,  he  warned  them 
of  this  danger  in  a  friendly  and  faithful  letter,  wherein 
are  these  expressions :  "  The  best  part  of  a  community 
is  always  the  least,  and  of  that  best  part,  the  wiser  is  al- 
ways the  lesser ;  wherefore  the  old  law  was,  choose  ye 
out  judges,  &c.,  and  thou  shalt  bring  the  matter  to  the 
judge." 

Governor  Winthrop  was  one  of  the  original  found- 
ers of  Harvard  College,  and  his  name  and  influence 
were  always  given  in  its  support.  There  is  no  one,  (says 
President  Quincy,)  to  whose  patronage  the  college  was 
more  indebted,  during  the  period  of  its  infancy,  and  con- 
sequent weakness  and  dependence.* 

In  1645,  when  he  was  deputy-governor,  a  great  dis- 
turbance grew  out  of  some  transactions  at  Hingham.  It 
was  briefly  this :  A  disagreement  had  fallen  out  in  a  mili- 
tary company  at  Hingham,  touching  an  election  of  offi- 
cers, which  led  to  some  mutinous  and  disorderly  practices 
there;  and  the  offenders  being  required  to  find  bail  for 
their  appearance  at  court,  Winthrop,  as  a  magistrate,  on 
the  refusal  of  some  of  them,  ordered  them  to  be  com- 
mitted. As  there  existed  at  that  time  great  jealousy  of 
the  authority  of  the  magistrates,  and  as  this  business  ex- 
cited much  feeling  in  Hingham,  a  petition,  numerously 
signed,  was  presented  to  the  deputies,  asking  that  the 
case  might  be  examined  by  the  General  Court.     Win- 

*  Quiney's  Hiet.  Harv.  Univ.,  i.  163. 


260  JOHN    WINTHROP. 

throp  was  put  on  trial,  and,  after  a  prolonged  examination 
of  six  weeks,  was  fully  acquitted,  and  the  mutineers  and 
petitioners  were  fined  in  various  sums,  from  £l  to  <£20, 
for  the  costs  of  t\\e  court.  Governor  Winthrop  now  took 
occasion  publicly  to  declare  his  sentiments  on  the  ques- 
tions touching  the  authority  of  the  magistrates,  and  the 
liberty  of  the  people.  "It  is  yourselves  (said  he)  who 
have  called  us  to  this  office,  and  being  called  by  you,  we 
have  our  authority  from  God,  in  way  of  an  ordinance, 
such  as  hath  the  image  of  God  eminently  stamped  upon 
it,  the  contempt  and  violation  whereof  has  been  vin- 
dicated with  examples  of  divine  vengeance.  I  entreat 
you  to  consider,  that  when  you  choose  magistrates,  you 
take  them  from  among  yourselves,  men  subject  to  like 
passions  as  you  are.  Therefore, ,  when  you  see  in- 
firmities in  us,  you  should  reflect  upon  your  own,  and 
that  would  make  you  bear  the  more  with  us,  and  not 
be  severe  censurers  of  the  failings  of  your  magistrates, 
when  you  have  continued  experience  of  the  like  in- 
firmities in  yourselves  and  others.  We  account  him  a 
good  servant,  who  breaks  not  his  covenant.  The  cove- 
nant between  you  and  us,  is  the  oath  you  have  taken 
of  us,  which  is  to  this  purpose,  that  we  shall  govern  you 
and  judge  your  causes  by  the  rules  of  God's  laws  and 
our  own,*  according  to  our  best  skill.  When  you  call 
one  to  be  a  magistrate,  he  doth  not  profess  to  nor  under- 
take sufficient  skill  for  that  office,  nor  can  vou  furnish  him 
with  gifts,  &,c;  therefore  you  must  run  the  hazard  of  his 
skill  and  ability.  But  if  he  fail  in  faithfulness,  which  by 
his  oath  he  is  bound  unto,  that  he  must  answer  for. 

*  It  must  be  observed,  that  the  Mosaic  law  was  at  this  time  considered  the 
general  standard,  and  most  of  the  laws  of  the  colony  were  founded  on  it. 


JOHN    WINTHROP.  261 

a  For  the  other  point,  concerning  liberty,  I  observe  a 
great  mistake  in  the  country  about  that.  There  is  a  two- 
fold liberty,  natural,  (I  mean  as  our  nature  is  now  cor- 
rupt,) and  civil  or  federal.  The  first  is  common  to  man 
with  beasts  and  other  creatures.  By  this,  man,  as  he 
stands  in  relation  to  man  simply,  hath  liberty  to  do  what  he 
lists ;  it  is  a  liberty  to  evil,  as  well  as  to  good.  This  liber- 
ty is  incompatible  with  authority,  and  cannot  endure  the 

least  restraint  of  the  most  just  authority The 

other  kind  of  liberty  I  call  civil  or  federal ;  it  may  also  be 
termed  moral,  in  reference  to  the  covenant  between  God 
and  man,  in  the  moral  law,  and  the  politic  covenants  and 
constitutions  amongst  men  themselves.  This  liberty  is 
the  proper  end  and  object  of  authority,  and  cannot  sub- 
sist without  it:  and  it  is  a  liberty  to  that  only  which  is 
good,  just  and  honest.  This  liberty  you  are  to  stand 
for,  with  the  hazard  not  only  of  your  goods,  but  of  your 
lives,  if  need  be."* 

In  the  following  year,  a  great  excitement  grew  out  of 
the  petitions  of  such  as  were  non-freemen,  who  com- 
plained that  the  fundamental  laws  of  England  were  not 
owned  in  the  colony  as  the  basis  of  government;  that, 
civil  privileges  were  denied  to  men  merely  for  not  being 
members  of  the  churches ;  and  that  they  could  not  enjoy 
Divine  ordinances,  because  they  belonged  to  the  Church 
of  England.  With  these  complaints,  they  petitioned  for 
liberty  of  conscience ;  or,  if  that  could  not  be  granted, 

*  From  Mather's  mutilated  transcript  of  Governor  Winthrop's  speech  on 
this  occasion,  the  authors  of  the  Modern  Universal  History,  condensed  and 
adorned,  in  vol.  xxxix.  291,2,  their  report,  as  if  delivered  in  St.  Stephen's  chapel, 
of  "the  following  speech,  which  is  equal  to  any  thing  of  antiquity,  whether  we 
consider  it  as  coming  from  a  philosopher  or  a  magistrate."  Savage  remarks, 
that  the  original  from  Winthrop's  own  pen  is  far  superior  to  their  copy.  See 
Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  5,  and  ii.  221 — 230. 


262  JOHN    WINTHROP. 

for  freedom  from  taxes  and  military  services :  the  peti- 
tion concluded  with  a  menace.  that,  in  case  of  a  refusal, 
complaint  would  be  made  to  the  Parliament  of  England. 
From  the  foundation  of  the  colony,  all  persons  residing 
within  its  limits,  who  were  not  church  members,  were 
subject  to  several  important  disabilities.  They  were  ex- 
cluded from  all  the  offices  and  honors  of  the  state ;  they 
were  not  allowed  to  vote  in  elections  or  on  laws,  even 
for  town-laws  and  officers,  saving  only  those  of  military 
companies.  They  were,  moreover,  we  can  hardly  doubt, 
looked  upon  by  the  church  members,  not  only  with  pity 
as  lost  men,  but  with  somewhat  of  indignation  as  rebels 
against  the  Divine  law,  and  treated  sometimes  with  the 
indifference  or  disregard  which  is  often  all  that  the  more 
privileged  bestow  upon  the  less.  Among  those  who 
were  not  members  of  a  church,  and  so  but  half  members 
of  the  state,  there  were  not  a  few  persons  eminent  for 
learning  and  talent,  on  whom  these  disabilities  bore  griev- 
ously. Hence  arose,  and  gradually  increased,  a  dislike 
of  the  government,  and  a  purpose  to  get  rid  of  the  odious 
restrictions,  which  at  length  gave  rise  to  the  petition 
referred  to.  William  Vassall,  of  Scituate,  a  man  of  learn- 
ing, wit,  and  address,  was  one  of  the  leading  fomenters 
of  this  movement ;  and  Dr.  Robert  Child,  of  Hingham, 
whom  Winthrop  calls  u  a  gentleman  and  a  scholar,"  ably 
seconded  his  efforts.  The  court  refused  to  entertain  the 
petition,  and  an  appeal  was  claimed  to  the  commissioners 
in  Parliament.  Some  of  the  petitioners  were  stopped  on 
the  eve  of  their  sailing  for  England,  and  held  to  bail. 
On  their  examination  they  justified  their  petition,  and 
were  fined  in  various  sums  from  £A  to  £50.  Persisting 
in  their  opposition,  and  while  preparing  to  prosecute 


JOHN    WINTHROP. 


263 


their  appeal,  Child  and  others  were  arrested  and  impris- 
oned. He  afterwards  went  to  England,  where  Vassall 
was  already,  and  attempted  to  excite  an  odium  against 
the  colony,  but  was  successfully  resisted  by  Edward 
Winslow,  their  agent.* 

This  kind  of  argument  was  frequently  urged  by  the 
fathers  of  New  England,  in  justification  of  their  severity 
towards  those  who  dissented  from  them:  they  main- 
tained that  all  men  had  liberty  to  do  right,  but  no  liberty 
to  do  wrong.  However  true  this  principle  may  be  in 
point  of  morality,  yet  in  matters  of  opinion,  in  modes  of 
faith,  worship,  and  ecclesiastical  order,  the  question  is, 
who  shall  be  the  judge  of  right  and  wrong  ?  and  it  is 
too  evident,  from  their  conduct,  that  they  supposed  the 
power  of  judging  to  be  in  those  who  were  vested  with 
authority ;  a  principle  destructive  of  liberty  of  conscience 
and  the  right  of  private  judgment,  and  big  with  all  the 
horrors  of  persecution.  The  exercise  of  such  authority 
they  condemned  in  the  High  Church  party,  who  had 
oppressed  them  in  England ;  and  yet,  such  is  the  frailty 
of  human  nature,  they  held  the  same  principles  and 
practised  the  same  oppressions  on  those  who  dissented 
from  them  here. 

Winthrop,  before  he  left  England,  was  of  a  more 
catholic  spirit  than  some  of  his  brethren ;  after  he  had 
come  to  America,  he  fell  in  with  the  reigning  principle  of 
intolerance,  which  almost  all  the  Reformers  unhappily 
retained,  as  a  relic  of  the  persecuting  Church  from  which 
they  had  separated ;  but  as  he  advanced  in  life,  he  re- 
sumed his  former  moderation ;  and  in  the  time  of  his  last 
sickness,  when  Dudley,  the   deputy-governor,   pressed 

*  See  Life  of  Edward  Winslow,  pp.  124—128. 


264  JOHN    WINTHROP. 

him  to  sign  an  order  for  the  banishment  of  a  person  who 
was  deemed  heterodox,  he  refused,  saying  that li  he  had 
done  loo  much  of  that  work  already." 

Having  devoted  the  greatest  part  of  his  interest  to 
the  service  of  the  public,  and  suffered  many  losses  by  ac- 
cidents, and  by  leaving  the  management  of  his  private 
affairs  to  unfaithful  servants,  while  his  whole  time  and 
attention  were  employed  in  the  public  business,  his  for- 
tune was  so  much  impaired,  that,  some  years  before  his 
death,  he  was  obliged  to  sell  the  most  of  his  estate  for 
the  payment  of  an  accumulated  debt.  Not  only  his  time, 
but  much  of  his  estate  also,  was  given  to  the  public.     In 

1632,  he  tells  us,  "For  want  of  a  common  stock,  he  had 
to  disburse  all  common  charges  out  of  his  estate."*     In 

1633,  the  court  ordered  to  be  paid  him  £\ 50  salary  for  the 
year,  and  the  money  he  had  paid  from  his  own  purse  in 
the  public  service,  being  between  £200  and  <£300  more.f 
He  informs  us  that  when  in  office,  his  expenses  hardly 
fell  short  of  =£500  a  year,  £200  of  which  would  have 
supported  his  family  in  a  private  condition.  In  1640,  his 
estate  had  become  so  reduced,  partly  by  the  misconduct  of 
his  steward,  who  had  contracted  large  obligations  (£2500 ) 
for  him  without  his  knowledge,  that  several  hundred 
pounds  (less  than  500)  were  given  him  by  voluntary 
contribution  in  the  colony ;  and  the  court,  the  treasury 
being,  as  it  often  was,  empty,  granted  to  his  wife  3000 
acres  of  land  :  a  strong  proof  of  the  high  esteem  in  which 
he  was  held,  as  well  as  of  sympathy  for  his  misfor- 
tunes. J — In  his  will,  made  June,  1641,  (afterward  re- 
voked,) he  mentions  that  he  owned  a  farm  at  Medford, 
then  as  now  called  "  the  Ten-hills,"  an  island  called  still 

*  Journal,  i.  86.     1  Ibid,  i.  105.     i  Ibid,  ii.  1,  2. 


JOHN    WINTHROP.  265 

Governor's,  in  Boston  Harbor,  Prudence  Island  in  Nar- 
ragansett  Bay,  a  lot  at  Concord,  and  another  of  1200 
acres  on  the  Concord  River,  and  2000  acres  still  due 
him  from  the  country.* 

He  also  met  with  much  affliction  in  his  family,  hav- 
ing buried  three  wives  and  six  children.  These  trou- 
bles, joined  to  the  opposition  and  ill  treatment  which  he 
frequently  met  with  from  some  of  the  people,  so  preyed 
upon  his  nature,  already  much  worn  by  the  toils  and 
hardships,  of  planting  a  colony  in  a  wilderness,  that 
he  perceived  a  decay  of  his  faculties  seven  years  before 
he  reached  his  grand  climacteric,  and  often  spoke  of  his 
approaching  dissolution,  with  a  calm  resignation  to  the 
will  of  Heaven.  At  length,  when  he  had  entered  the 
sixty-second  year  of  his  age,  a  fever  occasioned  by  a 
cold,  after  one  month's  confinement,  put  an  end  to  his 
life,  on  the  26th  of  March,  1649.  He  was  buried  in  the 
Chapel  burial  ground  in  Boston,  where  his  monument 
may  yet  be  seen. 

Upon  the  occasion  of  the  last  sickness  of  Governor 
Winthrop,  the  whole  church  fasted  as  well  as  prayed  for 
him ;  and  in  that  fast,  the  venerable  Cotton  preached  on 
Psalms  xxxv.  13,  14;  making  this  application — "Upon 
this  occasion  we  are  now  to  attend  this  duty  for  a  gover- 
nour,  who  has  been  to  us  as  a  friend  in  his  counsel  for 
all  things,  and  help  for  our  bodies  by  physick,  for  our 
estates  by  law,  and  of  whom  there  was  no  fear  of  his  be- 
coming an  enemy,  like  the  friends  of  David :  a  gover- 
nour  who  has  been  to  us  as  a  brother;  not  usurping  au- 
thority over  the  church ;  often  speaking  his  advice,  and 
often  contradicted,  even  by  young  men,  and  some  of  low 

*  Journal,  ii.  360. 

34 


266  JOHN    WINTHROP. 

degree;  yet  not  replying,  but  offering  satisfaction  also 
when  any  supposed  offences  have  arisen ;  a  governour, 
who  has  been  to  us  as  a  mother,  parent-like  distributing 
his  goods  to  brethren  and  neighbors  at  his  first  coming ; 
and  gently  bearing  our  infirmities  without  taking  notice 
of  them."* 

A  fine  portrait  of  Governor  Winthrop  is  preserved  in 
the  Senate  Chamber  of  Massachusetts,  with  those  of  other 
ancient  governors.  The  house  in  which  he  lived  re- 
mained until  1775,  when  with  many  other  old  wooden 
buildings,  it  was  torn  down  by  the  British  troops  and  used 
for  fuel.  He  lived  on  the  lot  at  the  corner  of  Milk 
street,  Boston,  part  of  which  was  afterwards  taken  for 
the  Old  South  Church,  and  in  the  house  subsequently  oc- 
cupied by  Prince,  the  chronologist. 

Governor  Winthrop  kept  an  exact  journal  of  the 
occurrences  and  transactions  in  the  colony,  during  his 
residence  in  it;  entitled  "  The  History  of  JYeiv  Englcmd, 
from  1630  to  1649."  It  affords  a  more  exact  and  cir- 
cumstantial detail  of  events  within  that  period  than  any 
compilation  which  has  been  or  can  be  made  from  it;  the 
principles  and  conduct  of  this  truly  great  and  good  man 
therein  appear  in  the  light  in  which  he  himself  viewed 
them;  while  his  abilities  for  the  arduous  station  which 
he  held,  the  difficulties  which  he  had  to  encounter,  and 
his  fidelity  in  business,  are  displayed  with  that  truth  and 
justice  in  which  they  ought  to  appear. 

The  Journal  was  originally  written  in  three  separate 
books.  The  two  first  remained,  unpublished  and  un- 
copied,  in  possession  of  the  elder  branch  of  the  Winthrop 
family,  until  the  revolutionary  war,  when  Gov.  Trum- 

*  Mather's  Magnalia,  b.  2.  c.  4. 


JOHN    WINTHROP.  267 

bull  of  Connecticut  procured  the  MS.,  and,  with  the 
assistance  of  his  secretary,  copied  a  considerable  part  of 
it.  After  Governor  Trumbull's  death,  Noah  Webster, 
Esq.  by  consent  of  the  descendants  of  Governor  Win- 
throp,  published  the  MS.  believing  it  to  be  the  entire 
work.  It  was  printed  at  Hartford,  in  1790,  in  an  octavo 
volume  of  370  pages :  and  brought  down  the  Journal  to 
the  26th  October,  1644.  In  1816,  the  third  book  of  the 
original  MS.  was  found  among  the  collections  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Prince,  in  the  dormitory  of  the  Old  South 
Church,  where  for  sixty  years  it  had  remained  unnoticed. 
It  commences  where  the  second  volume  closed,  and  con- 
tinues the  Journal  to  January  1 1,  1649,  which  was  within 
about  ten  weeks  of  the  author's  death.  The  whole  work 
was  evidently  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Prince  in  1755,*  as 
it  must  have  been  previously  in  those  of  Mather  and 
Hubbard. 

The  fortunate  preservation  and  recovery  of  the  third 
volume  of  the  MS.  Journal  of  Winthrop,  as  above  stat- 
ed, induced  the  indefatigable  New  England  antiquary, 
Hon.  James  Savage,  to  undertake  the  preparation  of  a 
new  edition,  by  whom  the  task  was  accomplished  in 
1825.  Dr.  Savage  carefully  revised  the  text,  and  added 
a  large  body  of  illustrative  notes,  which  are  unrivalled 
for  historical  accuracy,  sagacity,  and  learning. 

There  is  in  the  Library  of  the  New  York  Historical 
Society,  a  MS.  entitled  "  AModcllof  Christian  Charitij. 
Written  on  board  the  Arbella,  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 
By  the  Hon.  John  Winthrop,  Esqr.  in  his  passage  (with 
a  great  company  of  Religious  people,  of  which  Christian 

*  See  Prince's  Advertisement,  prefacing  Continuation  of  his  Annals,  II 
Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  vii.  190. 


268  JOHN    WINTHROP. 

tribes  he  was  the  Brave  leader  and#  famous  Governor  : ) 
from  the  Island  of  Great  Brittaine  to  New  England  in 
the  North  America.  Anno  1630."  It  is  an  interesting 
paper,  and  has  been  reprinted  in  III  Mass.  Hist.  Coll. 
viii.  31—48. 

Governor  Winthrop  was  four  times  married,  and  had 
thirteen  children. 

His  first  wife  was  Mary,  daughter  of  John  Forth,  Esq. 
of  Great  Stanbridge  in  Essex,  to  whom  he  was  married 
on  the  16th  April,  1605.  She  was  buried  on  the  26 
June,  1615.  His  second  wife  was  Thomasin,  daughter 
of  William  Clopton,  who  appears  to  have  survived  but  a 
short  time  the  period  of  her  marriage,  as  her  burial  is 
mentioned  as  having  taken  place  on  the  11  December, 
1616.  The  third  wife  of  Governor  Winthrop  was  Mar- 
garet, daughter  of  Sir  John  Tindal,  Knt.*  to  whom  he 
was  married  on  the  29th  April,  1618.  She  died  at  Bos- 
ton, 14  June,  1647,  being,  says  the  brief  record  in  Win- 
throp's  Journal,  "about  fifty-six  years  of  age:  a  woman 
of  singular  virtue,  prudence,  modesty  and  piety,  and  es- 
pecially beloved  and  honored  of  all  the  country."  Gov- 
ernor Winthrop  afterwards,  in  1648,  married  Martha, 
the  widow  of  Thomas  Coytmore,  of  Charlestown,  who 
died  on  the  coast  of  Wales,  in  1645.  She  was  the  sis- 
ter of  Increase  No  well.  She  survived  Governor  Win- 
throp, and  on  the  10th  March,  1651,  was  married  to 
John  Coggan,  a  successful  merchant  of  Boston,  who  was 
her  third  husband.  The  children  of  Governor  Win- 
throp, were — 

*  This  gentleman,  who  was  a  Master  in  Chancery,  was  assassinated  12  Nov., 
1616,  for  making  a  report  against  a  suitor  in  a  cause  of  comparatively  small 
amount.  The  murderer  was  examined  16  Nov.,  and  next  day  hanged  himself 
in  prison. 


JOHN    WINTHROP.  269 

1.  John,  who  was  born  atGroton,  England,  12  Feb. 
1606.  After  completing  his  education  in  the  University 
of  Cambridge,  and  in  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  he  trav- 
elled into  France,  Holland,  Flanders,  Italy,  Germany, 
and  Turkey,  and  united  the  accomplishments  of  a  gen- 
tleman with  the  erudition  of  a  scholar.  In  1631,  he 
came  with  his  father's  family  to  New  England,  and  was 
chosen  a  magistrate  of  the  colony  of  which  his  father  was 
governor.  In  1633,  he  began  the  plantation  of  Ipswich. 
In  1634,  he  went  to  England,  and  in  1635  returned  with 
powers  from  lords  Say  and  Seal,  and  Brook,  to  settle  a 
plantation  at  the  mouth  of  Connecticut  river.  He  was 
afterwards  chosen  governor  of  the  colony  of  Connecti- 
cut.— At  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.  he  went  to  Eng- 
land, and  obtained  a  charter  incorporating  New  Haven 
and  Connecticut  into  one  colony,  "  with  a  grant  of  priv- 
ileges and  powers  of  government,  superior  to  any  plan- 
tation which  had  been  settled  in  America."  From  this 
time  he  was  elected  governor  of  Connecticut  fourteen 
years  successively  till  his  death.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  philosophers  of  his  age.  His  name  appears 
among  the  founders  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London. 
Several  of  his  essays  are  inserted  in  the  Transactions. 
In  the  height  of  the  Indian  war,  while  he  was  attending 
to  his  official  duty  in  Boston,  as  one  of  the  Commission- 
ers of  the  United  Colonies,  he  fell  sick  of  a  fever,  and 
died  April  7,  1676,  and  was  buried  in  the  same  tomb 
with  his  father.* 

2.  Henry,  born  in  Groton,  in  Jan.    1607.     He  was 
accidentally  drowned  at  Salem,  2  July  1630,   the  day 

*  Further  particulars  respecting  the  second  Governor  Winthrop,and  his  de- 
scendants, will  appear  in  the  Lives  of  the  Governors  of  Connecticut,  in  a 
future  volume  of  this  work. 


270  JOHN    WINTHROP. 

after  his  arrival.     He  had  married  a  lady  by  the  name  of 
Fones,  and  left  issue  a  daughter. 

3.  Forth,  who  died  in  England  a  short  time  after 
his  father  sailed. 

4.  Anna,  baptized  8  August,  1614,  and  buried  the 
26th  of  the  same  month. 

5.  Anna,  baptized  26  June,  1615,  and  buried  the 
29th  of  that  month. 

6.  Mary,  who  is  mentioned  in  the  will  of  her  father, 
dated  17  May,  1620.  She  was  married  about  1633,  to 
Rev.  Samuel  Dudley,  son  of  Governor  Thomas  Dudley, 
who  resided  at  Cambridge,  Boston,  and  Salisbury,  and 
finally  settled  at  Exeter,  N.  H.,  as  the  minister  of  that 
town.     She  died  at  Salisbury,  12  April,  1643. 

7.  Stephen,  born  in  March,  1619;  was  representa- 
tive from  Pascataqua,  N.  H.  in  1644;  went  to  England 
in  1645  or  1646,  with  Rainsburrow,  his  brother-in-law, 
lived  in  the  parish  of  St.  Margaret,  in  Westminster,  com- 
manded a  regiment  in  Cromwell's  time,  and  became  a 
member  of  parliament.  He  was  much  trusted  by  the 
Protector.  He  succeeded  General  Harrison,  the  exqui- 
site enthusiast,  who  troubled  Cromwell  so  much  with 
his  anticipation  of  a  kingdom  of  saints.*  He  died  prior 
to  1659. 

8.  Adam,  born  7  April,  1620,  admitted  freeman  in 
1641,  and  died  24  Aug.,  1652.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth 
Glover.f  His  son  Adam,  graduate  at  Harvard  College, 
1668,  commanded  one  of  the  three  militia  companies  of 

*  See  note  in  Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  126. 

t  Dr.  Farmer,  in  his  Genealogy,  following  earlier  authorities,  makes  Adam 
the  eldest  son  of  Winthrop  by  his  third  wife;  but  the  Parish  Register  of  Gro- 
ton,  in  Suffolk,  extracts  from  which  are  furnished  in  Savage's  "  Gleanings  for 
New  England  History,"  (III  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  viii.)  makes  Stephen  the  elder 
son  by  this  marriage. 


JOHN    WINTHROP.  271 

Boston,  which  assembled  on  the  deposition  of  Andros, 
was  representative  for  several  years,  a  counsellor  under 
the  charter  of  1691,  and  a  judge  of  the  superior  court, 
and  died  30th  August,  1700,  aged  52.  His  son  Adam, 
graduated  at  Harvard  College,  1694,  was  representative 
and  counsellor,  and  commanded  the  Boston  regiment. 
He  died  2d  October,  1743.  His  son  John,  graduated  at 
Harvard  College,  1732,  was  in  1738,  appointed  Hollis 
Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy,  in 
Harvard  College,  and  was  one  of  the  most  learned  men 
of  the  age.     He  died  3d  May,  1779,  aged  64."* 

9.  Deane.  He  was  born  March  16,  1623,  was  mem- 
ber of  the  artillery  company,  1644,  freeman,  1665,  was 
concerned  in  the  settlement  of  Groton,  which  was  pro- 
bably so  named,  in  honor  of  his  father's  native  place. 
He  died  at  Pulling  Point,  March  16,  1704,  aged  81. 

10.  Samuel,  born  in  August,  1627.  In  1647,  he 
was  in  the  West  Indies.  In  1647,  his  father  writes  to 
John  Winthrop,  Jr.,  that  Samuel  was  married  in  Holland 
to  a  Dutch  woman,  and  was  intending  to  visit  Boston  on 
his  way  to  Barbadoes. 

11.  Anne.  This  daughter  was  born  in  April,  1630, 
after  her  father  had  left  England.  She  died  on  the  pas- 
sage to  this  country,  when  eighteen  months  old. 

12.  William,  born  14th  August,  1632.  He  proba- 
bly died  young,  as  the  records  do  not  mention  his  birth. 

13.  Joshua,  born  12th  December,  1648,  the  only 
child  by  his  last  wife.  After  the  death  of  Governor  Win- 
throp, the  General  Court  gave  £200  to  his  infant  Joshua ; 
and  in  case  he  died  before  attaining  the  age  of  twenty- 

*  See  notice  of  Professor  Winthrop,  in  Quincy's  History  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, ii.  207—224. 


272  JOHN    WINTHROP. 

one  years,  one-third  of  the  sum  was  to  go  to  the  widow, 
one-third  to  Deane  Winthrop,  and  the  remaining  third 
to  Samuel  Winthrop.  The  paternal  regard  of  the  colo- 
ny was,  however,  ineffectual,  as  the  Boston  records  show 
that  "  Joshua  Winthrop,  youngest  son  of  the  late  Mr. 
John  Winthrop,  Esquire,  died  11th  January,  1651." 

Governor  Winthrop  had  five  sons  living  at  the  time  of 
his  decease,  all  of  whom,  notwithstanding  the  reduction 
of  his  fortune,  acquired  and  possessed  large  property, 
and  were  persons  of  eminence.  The  high  reputation  of 
the  first  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  has  been  well  sus- 
tained by  succeeding  generations  of  his  family ;  and  no 
name,  perhaps,  in  the  history  of  New  England  has  been 
more  richly  adorned  by  exalted  public  and  private  char- 
acter, or  more  generally  respected,  than  that  of  Win- 
throp.* 

*  Additional  genealogical  notes,  and  sketches  of  the  distinguished  descend- 
ants of  Governor  Winthrop,  will  be  given  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Governors  of 
Connecticut. 


27; 


II.     THOMAS   DUDLEY. 

Thomas  Dudley,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of 
the  Puritan  settlers  of  New  England,  and  second  gover- 
nor of  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  was  born  at 
Northampton,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  residence  of 
the  Earl  of  Northampton,  in  the  year  1576.  There  is  a 
tradition  among  the  descendants  of  Governor  Dudley,  in 
the  eldest  branch  of  the  family,  that  he  was  descended 
from  John  Dudley,  Duke  of  Northumberland,  who  was 
beheaded  22  February,  1553,  and  some  of  the  name  have 
been  anxious  to  trace  their  descent  to  that  ambitious 
courtier;  but  whoever  will  take  the  pains  to  consult  Dug- 
dale's  Antiquities  of  Warwickshire,  will  be  satisfied  that 
our  honest  old  Puritan  could  not  have  descended  from 
the  Dudleys,  who  figure  so  much  in  English  history. 
His  descent,  however,  was  probably  quite  as  honorable ;  as 
Dugdale  produces  evidence  to  show  that  Edmund  Dud- 
ley, the  privy  counsellor  of  Henry  VII.,  was  the  son,  or 
grandson  of  John  Dudley,  a  carpenter,  and  of  very  hum- 
ble origin — and  not  descended  from  the  family  of  Sutton, 
Baron  of  Dudley,  in  Staffordshire,  as  was  pretended 
by  the  Duke.  It  was  the  marriage  of  Edmund  Dudley 
with  Elizabeth,  the  daughter  and  heiress  of  Sir  Edward 
Grey,  Viscount  Lisle,  that  gave  to  him  his  family  distinc- 
tion, and  his  talents  gave  him  his  influence  and  power. 
He  was  born  in  1462,  became  a  lawyer  and  privy  coun- 
sellor to  Henry  VII. ,  and  speaker  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons in  1505.  He  retained  the  favor  of  this  monarch, 
who  bestowed  upon  him  great  wealth.  Henry  VIII., 
35 


274  THOMAS    DUDLEY. 

inherited  his  father's  treasures,  but  not  his  friendships ; 
and  Dudley  was  beheaded  on  Tower  Hill,  22  Aug.  1510. 
John  Dudley,  the  son  of  Edmund,  was  born  in  1502, 
and  after  the  accession  cf  Edward  VI.,  was  made  Earl 
of  Warwick,  and  in  1551,  Duke  of  Northumberland. 
He  fell  in  the  vain  attempt  to  raise  his  daughter-in-law, 
the  Lady  Jane  Grey,  wife  of  Lord  Guilford  Dudley,  to 
the  throne,  as  successor  of  Edward,  and  was  beheaded 
by  order  of  Queen  Mary,  22  Feb.  1553.  Sir  Robert 
Dudley,  son  of  the  Duke  of  Northumberland,  born  1532, 
was  a  favorite  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  by  whom,  in  1564, 
he  was  made  Baron  of  Denbigh  and  Earl  of  Leicester. 
He  died  4  Sept.  1588.  Ambrose  Dudley,  brother  to  the 
Earl  of  Leicester,  who  died  at  Bedford  House,  near  Lon- 
don, 21  Feb.  1589,  was  "deservedly  called  the  good 
Earl  of  Warwick."*  The  Duke  of  Northumberland 
had  eight  sons  and  five  daughters,  and  from  one  of  these 
sons,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Dudley,  son  of  Governor  Thomas, 
supposed  his  family  to  have  been  derived. 

A  late  writer,  speaking  of  Robert  Dudley,  son  of  the 
Duke,  who  became  the  favorite  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and 
was  made  Earl  of  Leicester,  says  the  disputes  about  his 
descent,  go  back  to  his  great  grandfather,  who  is  describ- 
ed by  one  party  as  a  carpenter,  and  by  the  other  as  a 
nobleman ;  while  a  third,  acting  as  umpire,  proposes  to 
reconcile  both  theories  by  making  him  a  li  noble  timber- 
merchant."  However  the  dispute  may  be  decided,  the 
jest,  founded  on  the  first  theory,  is  too  good  to  be  lost; 
it  was  said,  that  "  he  was  the  son  of  a  duke,  the  brother 
of  a  king,  the  grandson  of  an  esquire,   and  the  great 

*  Dugdale's  Antiquities  of  Warwickshire.     Kippis'  Biographia  Brittanica, 
vol.  v.  art.  Dudley. 


THOMAS    DUDLEY.  275 

grandson  of  a  carpenter;  that  the  carpenter  was  the 
only  honest  man  in  the  family,  and  the  only  one  who  died 
in  his  bed." 

It  does  not  appear  that  Governor  Dudley  ever  claim- 
ed descent  either  from  the  family  of  Warwick  or  of 
Northumberland;  and  there  have  been  those  of  the 
name,  who  would  not  exchange  the  title  and  privileges 
of  an  American  citizen,  for  the  brightest  coronet  that 
glitters  in  Europe. 

Thomas  Dudley  was  the  only  son  of  Captain  Roger 
Dudley,  who  was  slain  in  battle.  Being  left  an  orphan, 
he  was  taken  into  the  family  of  the  Earl  of  Northampton, 
where  he  remained  for  several  years.  He  next  entered 
the  office  of  a  judge  of  the  name  of  Nicholls,  in  the  ca- 
pacity of  a  clerk,  in  which  situation,  the  judge  being  a 
kinsman  of  his  mother,  he  was  allowed  many  favorable 
opportunities  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge.  These 
advantages  he  faithfully  improved,  and  became  distin- 
guished among  the  young  men  of  his  age,  for  intelligence, 
courage  and  conduct.  Inheriting  from  his  father,  a  taste 
for  military  adventure,  and  the  most  direct  path  to  pub- 
lic honors  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  being  the  pro- 
fession of  arms,  when  the  Queen  ordered  levies  for  the 
French  service,  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  a 
company,  marched  into  the  field,  and  was  at  the  siege  of 
Amiens,  under  Henry  IV.  On  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty 
of  peace,  Captain  Dudley  returned  to  England,  and  set- 
tled in  the  neighborhood  of  Northampton.  Here  he 
married  "a  gentlewoman  whose  extraction  and  estate 
were  considerable;"  which  circumstance  introduced  him 
to  an  acquaintance  with  several  eminent  and  pious  dis- 
senting clergymen.    He  attended  their  ministrations  with 


276  THOMAS    DUDLEY. 

a  devout  and  prayerful  spirit,  and  became  one  of  the 
most  sincere  and  inflexible  of  the  persecuted  body  of  the 
Puritans. 

It  was  not  long  after  this,  that  Lord  Say  and  Seal, 
and  other  persons  of  quality,  recommended  Mr.  Dudley 
to  Theophilus,  the  fourth  Earl  of  Lincoln,  who  came  to 
his  title  on  the  death  of  his  father,  15th  January,  1619.* 
The  young  Earl,  on  coming  to  his  estate,  found  it  incum- 
bered with  heavy  debts,  and  conceiving  a  good  opinion 
of  Dudley,  made  him  steward  of  the  household,  and 
entrusted  to  him  the  management  of  his  affairs.  Find- 
ing him  to  possess  more  than  ordinary  discretion,  the  Earl 
would  rarely,  if  ever,  (says  Mather,)  do  any  matter  of 
moment  without  his  advice.  He  soon  extricated  the 
estate  from  its  embarrassments,  and  increased  the  income. 
In  his  business  transactions,  he  exhibited  so  much  fore- 
sight, sagacity,  and  fidelity,  as  to  gain  the  entire  confi- 
dence of  that  nobleman  and  his  family.  ,  Mr.  Dudley 
remained  about  ten  years  steward  of  the  Earl  of  Lin- 
coln, when  he  removed  to  Boston,  in  Lincolnshire,  where 
he  became  a  parishioner  of  the  famous  John  Cotton,  and 
the  associate  of  those  noble  spirits,  who  were  soon  to  lay 
the  foundations  of  religious  freedom  in  the  new  world. 
"Nevertheless  the  Earl  of  Lincoln  found  that  he  could 
be  no  more  without  Mr.  Dudley,  than  Pharaoh  without 


*  Mather  calls  this  "  the  best  family  of  any  nobleman  then  in  England;" 
and  Collins'  Peerage  informs  us,  that  Thomas,  the  third  Earl  of  Lincoln,  who 
was  descended  from  a  family  that  came  in  with  William  the  Conquerer,  had  by 
one  wife  eight  sons  and  nine  daughters.  One  daughter,  Frances,  married  John, 
son  and  heir  of  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges;  another,  Susan,  married  John  Hum- 
phrey ;  and  a  third,  the  Lady  Arbella,  married  Isaac  Johnson,  and  came  over  in 
the  fleet  in  1630,  and  died  soon  after.  So  that  a  close  relationship  to  New  Eng^ 
land  would  be  acknowledged  by  the  House  of  Lincoln.  Savage's  Winthrop,  i. 
34,  note. 


THOMAS    DUDLEY.  277 

his  Joseph,  and  prevailed  with  him  to  resume  his  former 
employment,  until  the  storm  of  persecution  upon  the 
non-conformists  caused  many  men  of  great  worth  to  trans- 
port themselves  into  New  England."* 

Mr.  Dudley  was  one  of  the  five  undertakers  of  the 
settlement  of  the  Massachusetts  colony,  and  came  over 
with  the  charter  in  1630.  He  was  far  advanced  in  life 
for  such  an  undertaking,  being  fifty-four  years  of  age. 
Before  the  sailing  of  the  fleet,  while  the  Arbella,  in  which 
he  embarked,  was  riding  at  anchor  in  the  harbor  of 
Cowes,  Mr.  Dudley  was  chosen  deputy  governor,  in  the 
place  of  John  Humphrey,  who  remained  behind.  His 
own  graphic  account  of  the  first  steps  in  this  great  en- 
terprise, contained  in  his  letter  of  12  March,  1631,  ad- 
dressed to  the  Countess  of  Lincoln,  is  the  best  that  can 
be  given.     The  following  are  extracts  from  this  letter: 

"  For  the  satisfaction  of  your  honor  and  some  friends, 
and  for  use  of  such  as  shall  hereafter  intend  to  increase 
our  plantation  in  New  England,  I  have  in  the  throng  of 
domestic,  and  not  altogether  free  from  public  business, 
thought  fit  to  commit  to  memory  our  present  condition, 
and  what  hath  befallen  us  since  our  arrival  here  ;  which  I 
will  do  shortly,  after  my  usual  manner,  and  must  do 
rudely,  having  yet  no  table,  nor  other  room  to  write  in, 
than  by  the  fireside  upon  my  knee,  in  this  sharp  winter; 
to  which  my  family  must  have  leave  to  resort,  though 
they  break  good  manners,  and  make  me  many  times  for- 
get what  I  would  say,  and  say  what  I  would  not." 

"  Touching  the  plantation  which  we  here  have  begun, 
it  fell  out  thus :  about  the  year  1627,  some  friends  being 
together  in  Lincolnshire,  fell  into  some  discourse  about 

*  Mather's  Magnalia,  b.  2.  c.  5. 


278  THOMAS    DUDLEY. 

New  England,  and  the  planting  of  the  gospel  there ;  and 
after  some  deliberation,  we  imparted  our  reasons  by  let- 
ters and  messages,  to  some  in  London  and  the  west 
country,  where  it  was  likewise  deliberately  thought  upon, 
and  at  length  with  often  negotiation  so  ripened,  that  in 
the  year  1628,  we  procured  a  patent  from  His  Majesty, 
for  our  planting  between  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  and 
Charles  river  on  the  south,  and  the  river  of  Merrimack 
on  the  north,  and  three  miles  on  either  side  of  those  riv- 
ers and  bay,  as  also  for  the  government  of  those  who  did 
or  should  inhabit  within  that  compass,  and  the  same  year 
we  sent  Mr.  John  Endecott  and  some  with  him,  to  begin 
a  plantation  and  to  strengthen  such  as  he  should  find 
there,  which  we  sent  thither,  from  Dorchester  and  some 
places  adjoining  ;  from  whom,  the  same  year,  receiving 
hopeful  news.  The  next  year,  1629,  we  sent  divers 
ships  over,  with  about  three  hundred  people,  and  some 
cows,  goats,  and  horses,  many  of  which,  arrived  safely. 
These  by  their  too  large  commendations  of  the  country, 
and  the  commodities  thereof,  invited  us  so  strongly  to  go 
on,  that  Mr.  Winthrop  of  Suffolk,  (who  was  well  known 
in  his  own  country  and  well  approved  here  for  his  piety, 
liberality,  wisdom,  and  gravity,)  coming  into  us,  we 
came  to  such  resolution,  that  in  April,  1630,  we  set  sail 
from  old  England,  with  four  good  ships.*  And  in  May 
following,  eight  more  followed,  two  having  gone  before, 
in  February  and  March,  and  two  more  following  in  June 
and  August,  besides  another  sent  out  by  a  private  mer- 
chant. These  seventeen  ships  arrived  all  safe  in  New 
England,  for  the  increase  of  the  plantation  here,  this 
year,  1630,  but  made  a  long,  troublesome,  and  a  costly 

*  The  Arbella,  Jewell,  Ambrose,  and  Talbot. 


THOMAS    DUDLEY.  279 

voyage,  being  all  wind  bound,  long  in  England,  and 
hindered  with  contrary  winds  after  they  set  sail,  and  so 
scattered  with  mists  and  tempests,  that  few  of  them  ar- 
rived together.  Our  four  ships  which  set  out  in  April, 
arrived  here  in  June  and  July,  where  we  found  the  colo- 
ny in  a  sad  and  unexpected  condition ;  above  eighty  of 
them  being  dead  the  winter  before,  and  many  of  those 
alive,  weak  and  sick ;  all  the  corn  and  bread  amongst 
them  all,  hardly  sufficient  to  feed  them  a  fortnight,  inso- 
much, that  the  remainder  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  ser- 
vants we  had  the  two  years  before  sent  over,  coming  to 
us  for  victuals  to  sustain  them,  we  found  ourselves  wholly 
unable  to  feed  them,  by  reason  that  the  provisions  ship- 
ped for  them,  were  taken  out  of  the  ship  they  were  put 
in,  and  they  who  were  trusted  to  ship  them  in  another, 
failed  us,  and  left  them  behind ;  whereupon,  necessity 
enforced  us,  to  our  extreme  loss,  to  give  them  full  liberty, 
who  had  cost  us  about  sixteen  or  twenty  pounds  a  per- 
son, furnishing  and  sending  over.  But  bearing  these 
things  as  we  might,  we  began  to  consult  of  the  place  of 
our  sitting  down,  for  Salem,  where  we  landed,  pleased 
us  not.  And  to  that  purpose,  some  were  sent  to  the  bay 
to  search  up  the  rivers  for  a  convenient  place ;  who  upon 
their  return,  reported  to  have  found  a  good  place  upon 
Mistick ;  but  some  other  of  us  seconding  these  to  approve 
or  dislike  of  their  judgment,  we  found  a  place  liked  us  bet- 
ter, three  leagues  up  Charles  river,  and  thereupon,  un- 
shipped our  goods  into  other  vessels,  and  with  much  cost 
and  labor,  brought  them  in  July,  to  Charlestown ;  but 
there  receiving  advertisements  by  some  of  the  late  arrived 
ships  from  London  and  Amsterdam,  of  some  French  pre- 
parations against  us,  (many  of  our  people  brought  with 


280  THOMAS    DUDLEY. 

us,  being  sick  of  fevers  and  scurvy,  and  we  thereby  un- 
able to  carry  up  our  ordnance  and  baggage  so  far)  we 
were  forced  to  change  counsel,  and  for  our  present  shel- 
ter, to  plant  dispersedly,  some  at  Charlestown,  which 
stands  on  the  north  side  of  the  mouth  of  Charles  river ; 
some  on  the  south  side  thereof,  which  place  we  named 
Boston  (as  we  intended  to  have  done  the  place  we  first 
resolved  on ;)  some  of  us  upon  Mistick,  which  we  named 
Medford  ;  some  of  us  westward  on  Charles  river,  four 
miles  from  Charlestown,  which  place  we  named  Water- 
town  ;  others  of  us,  two  miles  from  Boston,  in  a  place 
we  named  Rocksbury;  others  upon  the  river  of  Sawgus,, 
between  Salem  and  Charlestown ;  and  the  western  men, 
four  miles  south  from  Boston,  at  a  place  we  named  Dor- 
chester. This  dispersion  troubled  some  of  us,  but  help 
it,  we  could  not,  wanting  ability  to  remove  to  any  place 
fit  to  build  a  town  upon,  and  the  time  too  short  to  delibe- 
rate any  longer,  least  the  winter  should  surprise  us  be- 
fore we  had  built  our  houses.  The  best  counsel  we  could 
find  out,  was  to  build  a  fort  to  retire  to,  in  some  conve- 
nient place,  if  any  enemy  pressed  thereunto,  after  we 
should  have  fortified  ourselves  against  the  injuries  of  wet 
and  cold.  So  ceasing  to  consult  further  for  that  time, 
they  who  had  health  to  labor,  fell  to  building,  wherein 
many  were  interrupted  with  sickness,  and  many  died 
weekly,  yea  almost  daily." 

"And  of  the  people  who  came  over  with  us,  from 
the  time  of  their  setting  sail  from  England,  in  April, 
1630,  until  December  following,  there  died,  by  estima- 
tion, about  two  hundred  at  the  least — so  low  hath  the 
Lord  brought  us !  Well,  yet  they  who  survived,  were 
not  discouraged,  but  bearing  God's  corrections  with  hu- 


THOMAS    DUDLEV.  281 

mility  and  trusting  in  his  mercies,  and  considering  how, 
after  a  great  ebb,  He  had  raised  our  neighbors  at  Ply- 
mouth, we  began  again,  in  December,  to  consult  about  a 
fit  place  to  build  a  town  upon,  leaving  all  thoughts  of  a 
fort,  because  upon  any  invasion  we  were  necessarily  to 
lose  our  houses  when  we  should  retire  thereunto;  so 
after  divers  meetings  at  Boston,  Rocksbury  and  Water- 
town,  on  the  28th  of  December,  we  grew  to  this  resolution 
to  bind  all  the  Assistants  (Mr.  Endecott  and  Mr.  Sharpe 
excepted,  which  last  purposeth  to  return  by  the  next 
ships  into  England,)  to  build  houses  at  a  place,  a  mile 
east  from  Watertown,  near  Charles  river,  the  next  spring, 
and  to  winter  there  the  next  year,  that-so,  by  our  exam- 
ples, and  by  removing  the  ordnance  and  munitions  thither, 
and  such  as  shall  come  to  us  hereafter  to  their  advan- 
tage be  compelled  so  to  do ;  and  so,  if  God  would,  a  for- 
tified town  might  there  grow  up,  the  place  fitting  rea- 
sonably well  thereto."* 

In  the  same  letter  to  the  Countess  of  Lincoln,  Mr. 
Dudley  gave  the  following  advice  to  those  who  were 
hoping  to  better  their  worldly  condition  by  emigration. 
It  reminds  lis  of  similar  judicious  counsels  given  six  years 
before  by  Governor  Winslow : 

"  But  now  having  some  leisure  to  discourse  of  the 
motives  for  other  men  coming  to  this  place,  or  their  ab- 
staining from  it,  after  my  brief  manner  I  say  this — that 
if  any  come  hither  to  plant  for  worldly  ends  that  can 
live  well  at  home,  he  commits  an  error  of  which  he  will 
soon  repent  him.  But  if  for  spiritual,  and  that  no  par- 
ticular obstacle  hinder  his  removal,  he  may  find  here 

*  The  whole  of  this  letter  may  he  found  in  Coll.  N.  H.  Hist.  Soc,  iv.  224— 
249 ;  and  in  Force's  Historical  Tracts,  vol.  2,  No.  4. 

36 


282  THOMAS    DUDLEY. 

what  may  well  content  him,  viz  :  materials  to  build; 
fuel  to  burn,  ground  to  plant,  seas  and  rivers  to  fish  in, 
a  pure  air  to  breath  in,  good  water  to  drink  till  wine  and 
beer  can  be  made,  which,  together  with  the  cows,  hogs 
and  goats  brought  hither  already,  may  suffice  for  food, 
for  as  for  fowl  and  venison,  they  are  dainties  here  as 
well  as  in  England.  For  clothes  and  bedding,  they  must 
bring  them  with  them  till  time  and  industry  produce 
them  here.  In  a  word,  we  yet  enjoy  little  to  be  envied, 
but  endure  much  to  be  pitied  in  the  sickness  and  mor- 
tality of  our  people.  And  I  do  the  more  willingly  use 
this  open  and  plain  dealing,  lest  other  men  should  fall 
short  of  their  expectations  when  they  come  hither,  as  we 
to  our  great  prejudice  did,  by  means  of  letters  sent  us 
from  hence  into  England,  wherein  honest* men,  out  of  a 
desire  to  draw  over  others  to  them,  wrote  somewhat 
hyperbolically  of  many  things  here.  If  any  godly  men, 
out  of  religious  ends,  will  come  over  to  help  us  in  the 
good  work  we  are  about,  I  think  they  cannot  dispose  of 
themselves  nor  of  their  estates  more  to  God's  glory  and 
the  furtherance  of  their  own  reckoning,  but  they  must 
not  be  of  the  poorer  sort  yet  for  divers  years.  For  we 
have  found  by  experience  that  they  have  hindered,  not 
furthered  the  work — and  for  profane  and  debauched  per- 
sons, their  oversight  in  coming  hither  is  wondered  at, 
where  they  shall  find  nothing  to  content  them.  If  there 
be  any  imbued  with  grace,  and  furnished  with  means  to 
feed  themselves  and  theirs  for  eighteen  months,  and  to 
build  and  plant,  let  them  come  into  our  Macedonia  and 
help  us,  and  not  spend  themselves  and  their  estates  in  a 
less  profitable  employment :  for  others,  I  conceive  they 
are  not  yet  fitted  for  this  business." 


THOMAS    DUDLEY.  283 

Mr.  Dudley,  as  has  already  been  stated,  was  in  favor 
of  making  Newtown,  now  Cambridge,  the  metropolis  of 
the  colony;  and  after  consultation,  Governor  Winthrop, 
and  the  assistants,  agreed  to  settle  there,  and  streets  and 
squares,  and  market  places,  were  duly  surveyed  and  laid 
out.  In  the  spring  of  1631,  Mr.  Dudley  and  others 
commenced  building.  Governor  Winthrop  had  set  up 
the  frame  of  a  house,  but  soon  after  changed  his  mind, 
and  removed  it  to  Boston.  Mr.  Dudley  finished  his 
house,  and  moved  into  it  with  his  family.  The  first 
houses  were  rude  structures,  the  roofs  covered  with 
thatch,  the  fire-places  generally  made  of  rough  stones,  and 
the  chimneys  of  boards,  plastered  with  clay.  The  settlers 
were  publicly  enjoined  to  avoid  all  superfluous  expense, 
in  order  that  their  money  might  be  reserved  for  any  un- 
foreseen necessities.  Mr.  Dudley  having  finished  his 
house  with  a  little  more  regard  to  domestic  comfort, 
exposed  himself  to  public  censure.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
governor  and  assistants,  he  was  told,  that "  he  did  not 
well  to  bestow  such  cost  about  wainscoting  and  adorning 
his  house,  in  the  beginning  of  a  plantation,  both  in  regard 
to  the  expense,  and  the  example."  Dudley's  answer  was, 
that  it  was  for  the  warmth  of  his  house,  and  the  charge 
was  little,  "  being  but  clapboards  nailed  to  the  wall  in  the 
form  of  wainscot." 

The  removal  of  Winthrop  to  Boston,  in  violation  of 
his  first  understanding  with  Dudley,  Bradstreet  and 
others,  was  a  source  of  mutual  uneasiness ;  and  the  mis- 
understanding, on  that  and  other  matters,  led  Dudley, 
in  April,  1632,  to  resign  his  offices  of  deputy  governor 
and  assistant  of  the  colony.  He  even  meditated  for  a 
time  an  abandonment  of  the  colony,  and  a  return  to 


284  THOMAS    DUDLEY. 

England.  But  the  ministers  and  the  magistrates  saw 
the  evil  of  this  dispute  between  the  two  foremost  men 
of  the  plantation,  and  after  repeated  and  earnest  meetings, 
succeeded  in  bringing  about  a  reconciliation.  Dudley's 
resignation  was  adjudged  by  the  court  of  assistants  to  be 
a  nullity,,  and  he  again  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  sta- 
tion.* "  Ever  after  (says  Winthrop)  they  kept  peace  and 
good  correspondency  together  in  love  and  friendship." 

Mr.  Wilson,  the  first  minister,  having  left  Boston, 
in  March,  1631,  on  a  visit  to  England,  the  religious  ser- 
vices of  the  church  were  performed  alternately  by  Gov- 
ernor Winthrop,  the  deputy-governor  Dudley,  and  Mr. 
Nowell,  the  ruling  elder,  until  November  of  that  year, 
when  Mr.  John  Eliot  arrived,  and  preached  with  them 
until  his  settlement  at  Roxbury.  Hubbard  says  these 
men,  in  the  absence  of  their  pastor,  accepted  the  charge, 
"knowing  well  that  the  princes  of  Judah,  in  King  He- 
zekiah's  reign,  were  appointed  to  teach  the  people  out 
of  the  law  of  God." 

In  1632,  there  being  frequent  alarms  from  the  In- 
dians, a  palisade  was  commenced  about  Newtown.  Mr. 
Dudley  "  impaled  above  a  thousand  acres,"  and  the  court 
of  assistants  ordered  a  tax  of  £60  to  be  raised  for  the 
purpose  of  enclosing  Newtown  with  the  palisade.  Each 
town  made  choice  of  two  men  to  advise  with  the  gov- 
ernor about  raising  a  public  stock. 

In  1634,  at  the  meeting  of  the  general  court  in  May, 
Mr.  Dudley  was  chosen  governor.  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  the  colony.  It  was 
the  first  legislature  in  which  the  representative  principle 
was   recognized.     Three   delegates  from   each  of  the 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  72—78,  82—89. 


THOMAS    DUDLEY.  285 

towns  were  in  attendance — the  session  was  continued 
during  three  days — and  Winthrop  remarks,  as  if  glad  to 
escape  from  doubt,  that  "  all  things  were  carried  very 
peaceably,  notwithstanding  that  some  of  the  assistants 
were  questioned  by  the  freemen  for  some  errors  in  govern- 
ment," &c.  The  powers  of  the  general  court  were  now 
defined,  the  trial  by  jury  was  ordained,  and  orders  were 
made  regulating  the  future  elections  of  the  representa- 
tive body.  It  was  decided  that  there  should  be  four 
general  courts  every  year,  the  whole  body  of  freemen 
hereafter  assembling  only  at  the  court  of  election;  the 
other  courts  to  be  held  by  the  deputies.  Each  town  was 
authorized  to  choose  two  or  three  deputies  to  represent 
them  in  the  general  court.  This  was  the  second  house 
of  representatives,  in  the  American  colonies. 

The  origin  of  the  representative  body,  is  an  impor- 
tant event  in  our  history,  well  worth  a  more  deliberate 
scrutiny  than  has  been  freely  bestowed  upon  matters  of 
more  trifling  interest.  Hutchinson  says,  it  seems  to  have 
been  agreed  upon  or  fallen  into  by  a  general  consent  of 
the  towns,  and  that  it  was  a  thing  of  necessity.  Savage 
conjectures  that  the  "  assistants  were  become  weary  of 
the  exercise  of  all  the  powers  of  government,  and  desired 
others  to  participate  in  the  responsibility."*  But  a  consid- 
eration of  the  tendencies  of  the  age  may  well  lead  to  the 
conclusion,  that  it  was  not  so  much  that  the  assistants 
were  tired  of  governing,  as  that  an  ardent  desire  existed 
and  was  increasing  among  the  people  for  a  more  efficient 
share  in  the  responsibility  of  government — a  desire  which 
has  been  conspicuous  among  their  descendants.  The 
towns  were  allowed  two  or  three  deputies  each,  and  it 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  128. 


286  THOMAS    DUDLEY. 

appears  that  they  accepted  the  grant  with  eagerness,  and 
almost  invariably  chose  the  larger  number.  The  true 
origin,  after  all,  may  be  traced,  perhaps,  to  the  commit- 
tees of  two  from  each  town,  chosen  in  1632,  to  agree 
upon  the  method  of  providing  a  public  stock.  The  mat- 
ter of  taxation,  has  always  been  a  topic  of  interest  with 
the  people,  as  connected  with  representation ;  and  the  ex- 
penses of  the  proposed  fortification  of  Newtown,  proba- 
bly, had  its  effect — in  other  words,  Governor  Dudley's 
old  ditch  around  the  college,  the  remains  of  which  were 
visible  not  many  years  since,  may  have  been  the  im- 
mediate cause  of  the  establishment  of  the  first  house  of 
representatives  in  New  England ! 

The  general  court  at  this  session  also  established  a 
military  commission,  vested  with  the  most  unlimited  au- 
thority. At  the  head  of  this  commission  Governor  Dud- 
ley was  placed,  having  Winthrop,  Humphrey,  Haynes, 
Endecott,  Coddington,  Pynchon,  Nowell,  Bellingham  and 
Bradstreet  for  his  associates.  They  were  deputed,  in  the 
words  of  the  record,*  "to  dispose  of  all  military  affairs 
whatsoever;  shall  have  full  power  and  authority  to  see 
all  former  laws  concerning  all  military  men  and  munitions 
executed;  and  also  shall  have  full  power  to  ordain  or 
remove  all  military  officers,  and  to  make  and  tender  to 
them  an  oath  suitable  to  their  places ;  to  dispose  of  all 
companies,  to  make  orders  for  them,  and  to  make  and 
tender  to  them  a  suitable  oath,  and  to  see  that  strict  dis- 
cipline and  trainings  be  observed,  and  to  command  them 
forth  upon  any  occasion  they  think  meet ;  to  make  either 
offensive  or  defensive  war;  as  also  to  do  whatsoever 
may  be  further  behooveful  for  the  good  of  this  plantation 

*  I  Col.  Records,  p.  139. 


THOMAS    DUDLEY.  287 

in  case  of  any  war  that  may  befal  us;  and  also  that  the 
aforesaid  commissioners,  or  a  major  part  of  them,  shall 
have  power  to  imprison  or  confine  any  that  they  shall 
judge  to  be  enemies  to  the  commonwealth ;  and  such 
as  will  not  come  under  command  or  restraint,  as  they 
shall  be  required,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  said  com- 
missioners to  put  such  persons  to  death."  This  was 
a  formidable  power  to  be  intrusted  to  any  man,  or  body 
of  men,  but  it  seems  never  to  have  been  exerted  to  the 
injury  or  discontent  of  the  people. 

In  the  following  year,  Governor  Dudley  was  super- 
seded by  John  Haynes,  afterwards  Governor  of  Connec- 
ticut. He  was  chosen  assistant  in  1635,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year,  when  Sir  Henry  Vane  was  governor.  For 
the  years  1637,  8,  and  9,  he  was  deputy  governor.  At 
a  general  court  in  1636,  it  was  ordered  that  a  certain 
number  of  the  magistrates  be  chosen  for  life — and  Gov- 
ernors Winthrop  and  Dudley  were  raised  to  this  new 
dignify.  "Only  three  years  (says  Savage,)  did  this 
council  for  life  subsist."  The  object  of  the  change  was 
to  tempt  over  some  of  the  nobility  and  other  leading  men 
of  England,  who  were  ambitious  of  titles,  by  assuring 
them  of  a  similar  tenure  of  power  in  this  new  country.. 
It  was  a  weak  device,  which  met  no  favor  among  the 
people,  and  was  soon  abandoned. 

In  1636,  Anne  Hutchinson,  a  woman  of  familistic  prin- 
ciples, and  an  ardent  enthusiast,  held  meetings  and  gave 
lectures  for  the  propagation  of  her  peculiar  sentiments. 
Her  zeal  and  eloquence  attracted  numerous  hearers,  and 
her  adherents  rapidly  increased.  The  whole  colony  was 
soon  divided  into  two  parties,  the  one  called  Antino- 
mians,  and  the  other  Legalists.     Governor  Dudley,  al- 


288  THOMAS    DUDLEY. 

ways  foremost  in  what  he  believed  to  be  his  duty,  op- 
posed the  new  heresy  with  great  zeal;  and  with  Winthrop, 
Wilson,  and  others,  maintained  the  principles  and  prac- 
tices of  the  churches  as  they  stood  before  this  woman 
came  into  the  country.  With  them  in  sentiment  and 
feeling  were  the  ministers  and  people  of  the  other  con- 
gregations; but  Mr.  Vane,  the  governor,  and  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Cotton,  countenanced  the  opinions  of  Mrs.  Hutch- 
inson— her  party  became  strong — the  church  was  divided 
in  twain — mutual  censures  passed  between  the  brethren, 
and  every  thing  in  ecclesiastical  affairs  wore  the  aspect 
of  disunion  and  change.  The  civil  power  of  the  colony 
was  at  last  brought  in  to  crush  the  heresy,  and  proved 
effectual  for  the  time.  Mrs.  Hutchinson  was  banished, 
as  was  Wheelwright,  her  brother — all  the  principal  men 
in  the  colony  who  had  favored  their  preaching,  were  dis- 
armed— and  many,  to  escape  banishment,  became  volun- 
tary exiles  from  the  colony.*  The  trial  of  Mrs.  Hutchin- 
son is  a  precious  document  for  those  who  would  under- 
stand the  manners;  customs,  and  principles  of  our  fathers. 
It  is  preserved  by  Governor  Hutchinson,  in  the  Appen- 
dix to  his  History  of  Massachusetts.! 

*  Rev.  John  Wheelwright  came  from  Lincolnshire  to  New  England  in 
1636.  He  is  said  to  have  been  at  the  University  with  Cromwell,  who  when 
Wheelwright  waited  upon  him  in  England,  after  he  was  Protector,  remarked  to 
the  gentlemen  about  him  "that  he  could  remember  the  time  when  he  had  been 
more  afraid  of  meeting  Wheelwright  at  foot-ball,  than  of  meeting  any  army 
since  in  the  field,  for  he  was  infallibly  sure  of  being  tript  up  by  him."  Mather, 
in  A  pp.  to  Belknap,  iii.  225.  Wheelwright,  after  his  banishment,  went  to 
Exeter,  New  Hampshire,  from  thence  to  Wells,  in  Maine,  afterwards  to  Hamp- 
ton, and  finally  settled  in  Salisbury,  Massachusetts,  having  been  released  from 
his  sentence  of  banishment.  He  died  at  Salisbury,  15  Nov.  1679,  at  an  ad- 
vanced age. 

t  See  further  particulars  in  relation  to  Mrs.  Anne  Hutchinson,  in  Memoirs 
of  Winthrop  and  Vane,  in  the  present  volume. 


THOMAS    DUDLEY. 


289 


In  1640,  Mr.  Dudley  was  again  chosen  governor, 
taking  the  place  of  Winthrop.  The  latter  thus  modestly 
notices  the  event.  "  Some  trouble  there  had  been  in 
making  way  for  his  election,  and  it  was  obtained  with 
some  difficulty ;  for  many  of  the  elders  labored  much  in 
it,  fearing  lest  the  long  continuance  of  one  man  in  the 
place  should  bring  it  to  be  for  life,  and,  in  time,  heredi- 
tary. Besides,  this  gentleman  was  a  man  of  approved 
wisdom  and  godliness,  and  of  much  good  service  to  the 
country,  and  therefore  it  was  his  due  to  share  in  such 
honor  and  benefit  as  the  country  had  to  bestow." 

Richard  Bellingham  succeeded  Governor  Dudley  in 
1641,  and  Winthrop  was  governor  in  1642.  Although 
uniformly  chosen  one  of  the  assistants,  when  not  in  a 
higher  station,  Dudley  refused  to  accept  that  place  in  the 
latter  year,  unless  the  general  court  would  give  him  lib- 
erty to  remove  from  their  jurisdiction  whenever  it  might 
suit  his  convenience,  without  being  bound  in  any  existing 
oath  or  regulation,  either  as  an  officer,  counsellor,  or  as- 
sistant. To  these  conditions  the  general  court  readily 
assented. 

About  this  period,  there  was  something  like  a  strug- 
gle between  the  magistrates  and  ministers  for  power  and 
influence.  Mr.  Cotton  preached  the  doctrine,  that  the 
priesthood  ought  to  be  consulted  by  the  magistrates,  not 
only  before  they  went  to  war,  but  in  all  civil  affairs  of 
the  Commonwealth,  and  Mr.  Rogers,  another  minister, 
told  the  people,  that  no  governor  ought  to  be  contin- 
ued in  office  for  more  than  a  year.  These  opinions  met 
the  indignant  opposition  of  Governor  Dudley,  and  even 
the  milder  spirit  of  Winthrop  was  roused  against  them. 
But  however  the  ministers  and  magistrates  might  disa- 
37 


290  THOMAS    DUDLEY. 

gree  as  to  their  separate  powers,  they  were  sufficiently 
united  to  preserve  for  many  years,  through  their  regula- 
tions as  to  the  qualifications  of  freemen,*  the  closest  union 
of  church  and  state. 

In  1644,  there  being  twenty-six  training  bands  and  a 
troop  of  horse  in  the  colony,  it  was  ordained  that  there 
should  be  one  general  officer  in  time  of  peace,  whose 
title  should  be  Sergeant-Major  General.  Governor  Dud- 
ley, although  sixty-eight  years  of  age,  was  chosen  to  this 
office. 

In  1645,  Mr.  Dudley  was  again  chosen  governor, 
and  he  was  deputy  governor  from  1646  to  1649.  In 
1650,  he  was  for  the  fourth  time  elected  governor;  was 
deputy  governor  in  the  two  following  years ;  and  assist- 
ant in  1653,  in  which  office  he  died. 

*  By  the  old  colony  laws,  no  man  could  have  a  share  in  the  administration 
of  civil  government,  or  give  his  voice  in  any  election,  unless  he  was  a  member 
of  one  of  the  churches.  A  citizen  was  required  to  become  a  member  of  the 
church,  before  he  could  be  a  freeman,  until  1664,  when  the  general  court  re- 
pealed the  law  relating  to  the  admission  of  freemen,  but  passed  another  law 
allowing  English  subjects,  being  freeholders  to  a  certain  value,  who  were  cer- 
tified by  the  minister  of  the  place  to  be  orthodox,  and  not  vicious  in  their  lives, 
to  be  made  freemen,  although  not  members  of  the  churches.  The  following  is 
the  form  of  the 

Freeman's  Oath. — "I,  A.  B.,  being  by  God's  providence  an  inhabitant 
and  freeman  within  the  jurisdiction  of  this  commonwealth,  do  freely  acknowl- 
edge myself  to  be  subject  to  the  government  thereof,  and  therefore  do  here 
swear  by  the  great  and  dreadful  name  of  the  ever  living  God,  that  I  will  be 
true  and  faithful  to  the  same,  and  will  accordingly  yield  assistance  and  support 
thereunto,  with  my  person  and  estate,  as  in  equity  I  am  bound,  and  will  also 
truly  endeavor  to  maintain  and  preserve  all  the  liberties  and  privileges  thereof, 
submitting  myself  to  the  wholesome  laws  and  orders,  made  and  established  by 
the  same;  and  further  that  I  will  not  plot  nor  practice  any  evil  against  it,  nor 
consent  to  any  that  shall  so  do,  but  will  timely  discover  and  reveal  the  same  to 
lawful  authority,  now  here  established,  for  the  speedy  preventing  thereof;  more- 
over T  do  solemnly  bind  myself  in  the  sight  of  God,  that  when  I  shall  be  called 
to  give  my  voice  touching  any  such  matter  of  this  state  wherein  freemen  are  to 
deal,  I  will  give  my  vote  and  suffrage  as  I  shall  judge  in  mine  own  conscience 
may  best  conduce  and  tend  to  public  weal  of  the  body,  without  respect  of  per- 
sons, or  favcr  of  any  man.     So  help  me  God,  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 


THOMAS    DUDLEY.  291 

Governor  Dudley,  shortly  after  the  removal  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Hooker  and  his  associates  from  Newtown  ( Cam- 
bridge) to  Hartford,  in  1636,  himself  removed  to  lspwich ; 
but  his  public  engagements  rendering  it  inconvenient 
for  him  to  be  so  far  from  the  seat  of  government,  he  es- 
tablished himself  at  Roxbury,  where  he  died  on  the  31st 
July,  1653,  in  the  seventy-seventh  year  of  his  age.  He 
was  a  man  of  sound  judgment,  the  most  inflexible  integ- 
rity, of  great  public  spirit,  and  exemplary  piety.  With 
strong  passions,  he  was  still  placable  and  generous  in  dis- 
position. He  was  intolerant  towards  religious  sectaries; 
and  his  zeal  against  heretics  did  not  content  itself  with 
arguments  addressed  to  the  understanding,  or  reproofs 
for  the  conscience.  He  was  shocked  at  the  heresy  of 
Roger  Williams,  who  preached  liberty  of  conscience,  and 
voted  for  his  banishment.  Even  more  alarmed  was  he 
at  what  he  believed  to  be  the  progress  of  error,  when  the 
famous  Antinomian  controversy  a  short  time  after  shook 
the  foundations  of  the  churches;  and  with  proportionate 
zeal  did  he  exert  himself  to  procure  the  banishment  of 
Wheelwright,  Anne  Hutchinson,  and  others,  as  opposers 
of  God's  word,  and  enemies  of  the  state.  Through  the 
whole  of  his  life,  Governor  Dudley  opposed  and  denoun- 
ced what  he  deemed  to  be  heresy,  with  an  honest  zeal, 
which,  in  these  days  of  universal  toleration,  is  sometimes 
referred  to  as  a  blot  upon  his  fame.  But  the  candid  and 
judicious,  who  are  acquainted  with  the  history  of  the  Pu- 
ritans, and  the  circumstances  under  which  "  they  came 
into  a  corner  of  the  new  world,  and,  with  an  immense 
toil  and  charge,  made  a  wilderness  habitable,  on  purpose 
there  to  be  undisturbed  in  the  exercise  of  their  worship," 
will  never  be  found  censuring  and  railing  at  their  errors. 


292  THOMAS    DUDLEY. 

They  will  rather  wonder  at  the  wisdom  of  the  views, 
the  disinterested  nobleness  of  principle,  and  self-sacri- 
ficing heroism  displayed  by  these  wonderful  men,  to 
whom  the  world  is  indebted  for  the  most  perfect  insti- 
tutions of  civil  and  religious  freedom  known  among 
men. 

Morton  thus  speaks  of  the  merits  of  Governor  Dud- 
ley:— "His  love  to  justice  appeared  at  all  times,  and  in 
special  upon  the  judgment  seat,  without  respect  of  per- 
sons in  judgment,  and  in  his  own  particular  transactions 
with  all  men,  he  was  exact  and  exemplary.  His  zeal  to 
order  appeared  in  contriving  good  laws,  and  faithfully 
executing  them  upon  criminal  offenders,  heretics,  and 
underminers  of  true  religion.  He  had  a  piercing  judg- 
ment to  discover  the  wolf,  though  clothed  with  a  sheep- 
skin. His  love  to  the  people  was  evident  in  serving  them 
in  a  public  capacity  many  years,  at  his  own  cost,  and 
that  as  a  nursing  father  to  the  churches  of  Christ.  He 
loved  the  true  Christian  religion,  and  the  pure  worship 
of  God,  and  cherished,  as  in  his  bosom,  all  godly  minis- 
ters and  Christians.  He  was  exact  in  the  practice  of 
piety,  in  his  person  and  family,  all  his  life.  In  a  word, 
he  lived  desired,  and  died  lamented  by  all  good  men."* 
A  less  favorable  estimate  is  placed  upon  his  character 
by  Dr.  Savage,  who  says,  "  A  hardness  in  public,  and 
rigidity  in  private  life,  are  too  observable  in  his  charac- 
ter, and  even  an  eagerness  for  pecuniary  gain,  which 
might  not  have  been  expected  in  a  soldier  and  a  states- 
man." Hutchinson  says  "  he  was  zealous  beyond  meas- 
ure against  all  sorts  of  heretics."     Of  him  Roger  Wil- 

*•  Morton's  Memorial,  139.     See  also  Johnson's  estimate,  in  Wonder- Work- 
ing Providence,  p.  52. 


THOMAS    DUDLEY.  293 

liams  spoke,  when  he  said,  "  it  is  known  who  hindered, 
who  never  promoted  the  liberty  of  other  men's  con- 
sciences." 

The  following  lines  were  found  in  his  pocket,  after 
his  death,  written  apparently  a  short  time  before  he  died : 

"  Dim  eyes,  deaf  ears,  cold  stomach,  shew 

My  dissolution  is  in  view. 

Eleven  times  seven  near  lived  have  I, 

And  now  God  calls,  I  willing  die. 

My  shuttle's  shot,  my  race  is  run, 

My  sun  is  set,  my  deed  is  done, 

My  span  is  measur'd,  tale  is  told, 

My  flower  is  faded,  and  grown  old, 

My  dream  is  vanish'd,  shadows  fled, 

My  soul  with  Christ,  my  body  dead. 

Farewell,  dear  wife,  children,  and  friends  ! 

Hate  heresy  ;  make  blessed  ends  ; 

Bear  poverty;  live  with  good  men; 

So  shall  we  meet  with  joy  again. 
Let  men  of  God  in  courts  and  churches  watch, 
O'er  such  as  do  a  toleration  hatch  ; 
Lest  that  ill  egg  bring  forth  a  cockatrice, 
To  poison  all  with  heresy  and  vice. 
If  men  be  left,  and  otherwise  combine, 
My  Epitaph's,  I  died  no  Libertine." 

Governor  Dudley  had  an  anagram  sent  to  him  in 
1645,  by  an  unknown  hand,  which  is  yet  preserved  in 
the  files  of  the  first  Church  in  Roxbury. 

"  Thomas  Dudley. 

Ah  !  old  must  dye. 
A  death's  head  on  your  hand  you  neede  not  weare ; 
A  dying  head  you  on  your  shoulders  beare  ; 
You  neede  not  one  to  mind  you,  you  must  dye, 
You  in  your  name  may  spell  mortalitye. 
Young  men  may  dye,  but  old  men,  these  dye  must; 
'Twill  not  be  long  before  you  turn  to  dust. 
Before  you  turn  to  dust !  ah  !  must !  old  !  dye  ! 
What  shall  young  doe,  when  old  in  dust  do  lye  ? 
When  old  in  dust  lye,  what  New  England  doe  ? 
When  old  in  dust  do  lye,  it's  best  dye  too." 

Dudley,  however,  survived  this  solemn  warning  sev- 
eral years.     The  amusement  of  anagramatising  the  names 


294  THOMAS    DUDLEY. 

of  men,  was  much  indulged  in  by  our  forefathers,  and 
was  in  practice,  says  Mather,  "  as  long  ago  as  the  days 
of  old  Lycophron."  Camden,  in  his  "  Remaines,"  has 
a  chapter  upon  anagrams,  and  cites  numerous  instances 
in  various  languages.  The  acrostic  is  another  species  of 
false  wit  nearly  allied  to  the  anagram.  Numerous  ex- 
amples may  be  found  in  our  early  books.  "  The  rude 
rhymes  of  the  Pilgrims,  (says  Judge  Davis,)  will  find  a 
ready  apology  with  all  who  consider  their  circumstances 
and  the  literature  of  the  age.  Ample  compensation  for 
any  literary  defects  will  be  found  in  the  history  of  their 
lives."  "Hitherto,  (says  Camden,)  will  our  sparkefied 
youth  laugh  at  their  great-grandfather's  English,  who 
had  more  care  to  do  well,  than  to  speak  minion-like ; 
and  left  more  glory  to  us  by  their  exployting  of  great  acts, 
than  we  shall  do  by  forging  of  new  words,  and  uncouth 
phrases."* 

Governor  Dudley,  as  has  before  been  mentioned, 
married  his  first  wife  in  England.  She  died  27th  Sep- 
tember, 1643.  In  the  following  year,  he  married  Mrs. 
Catherine  Hackburne,  widow  of  Samuel  Hackburne. 
This  lady  survived  Governor  Dudley,  and  was  married 
to  Rev.  John  Allin  of  Dedham,  8th  November,  1653,  a 
little  more  than  three  months  after  the  governor's  death. 
The  children  of  Governor  Dudley,  by  both  marriages, 
were, 

1.  Samuel,  born  in  England,  about  1606,  came  to 
this  country  with  his  father,  was  educated  for  the  minis- 
try, married  Mary,  daughter  of  Governor  Winthrop  in 
1633,  resided  at  Cambridge,  Boston,  and  Salisbury,  and 
finally  settled  at  Exeter,  as  the  minister  of  that  town,  in 

*  Camden's  Remaines  of  a  Greater  Worke,  p.  18. 


THOMAS    DUDLEY.  295 

1650,  where  he  died  early  in  1683,  aged  77.  He  was 
a  representative  in  1644,  from  Salisbury.  His  wife  died 
at  Salisbury,  12th  April,  1643;  and  he  afterwards  mar- 
ried a  second  and  third  wife.  The  descendants  of  Rev. 
Samuel  Dudley  are  very  numerous  in  New  Hampshire.* 

2.  Anne,  born  in  England,  in  1612.  At  the  age  of 
sixteen  she  married  Simon  Bradstreet,  afterwards  gover- 
nor of  Massachusetts,  and  accompanied  him  to  New 
England  in  1630.  She  was  a  woman  of  rare  accomplish- 
ments, and  wrote  a  volume  of  poems,  probably  the  ear- 
liest in  America,  a  second  edition  of  which  was  published 
in  1678.f     She  died  16th  September,  1672. 

3.  Patience,  who  married  major-general  Daniel  Den- 
nison,  distinguished  in  the  early  annals  of  the  colony. J 


*  See  Farmer  and  Moore's  Collections,  i.  155,  and  ii.  237. 

t  Savage  says  "  it  does  credit  to  her  education,  and  is  a  real  curiosity,  though 
no  reader,  free  from  partiality  of  friendship,  might  coincide  in  the  commenda- 
tion of  the  funeral  elogy  by  John  Norton  : 

"  Could  Maro's  Muse  but  hear  her  lively  strain, 
He  would  condemn  his  works  to  fire  again. 
****** 
Her  breast  was  a  brave  palace,  a  broad  street, 
Where  all  heroic  ample  thoughts  did  meet, 
Where  nature  such  a  tenement  had  ta'en, 
That  other  souls,  to  hers,  dwelt  in  a  lane." 

t  General  Dennison  was  born  in  England  in  1613,  was  of'Cambridge  in 
1633,  removed  to  Ipswich  before  1635,  was  a  deputy  eight  years,  speaker  in 
1649  and  1651,  major  general  in  1653,  and  an  assistant  twenty-nine  years.  He 
died  20th  September,  1682,  aged  70.  He  is  spoken  of  by  high  authority  as  one 
of  the  few  "  popular  and  well  principled  men  in  the  magistracy."  Savage  says : 
"  The  moderate  spirit  by  which  he  was  usually  actuated,  had  not  a  general 
spread,  yet  the  continuance  of  his  election  to  the  same  rank  for  many  years, 
where  his  sympathy  was  not,  in  relation  to  the  controversy  with  the  Crown, 
in  unison  with  that  of  the  people,  is  evidence  of  the  strong  hold  his  virtues  and 
public  labors  had  acquired."  The  "  Irenicon  or  Salve  for  New  England's  Sore," 
of  which  he  was  the  author,  displays  his  accomplishments  as  a  scholar.  John- 
son observes,  he  was  a"  godly  faithful  man,  which  is  the  fountain  of  true  vali- 
dity  a  good  soldier,  of  a  quick  capacity,  not  inferior  to  any  of  the  chief  offi- 
cers ; his  own  company  are  well  instructed  in  feats  of  warlike   activity." 

Whitman's  Hist.  Anc.  and  Hon.  Artill.  170. 


296  THOMAS    DUDLEY. 

4  Mercy,  born  27th  September,  1621,  who  married 
Rev.  John  Woodbridge,  the  first  minister  of  Andover, 
Massachusetts.     She  died  1st  July,  1691.* 

5.  ,  who  married  Major  Benjamin  Keayne,  of 

Boston,  the  only  son  of  Capt.  Robert  Keayne,  founder 
of  the  "Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company"  of 
Boston.  The  father  alludes  to  this  in  his  will  as  "skn. 
unhappy  and  uncomfortable  match."  He  went  to  Eng- 
land, where  he  repudiated  his  wife,  and  died  about  1668. 

6.  Deborah,  born  27th  February,  1645. 

7.  Joseph,  born  23d  July,  1647:  The  second  Gov- 
ernor Dudley;  of  whom,  see  memoirs  in  subsequent 
pages  of  this  volume. 

S.  Paul,  born  at  Roxbury,  8th  September,  1650, 
when  his  father,  the  venerable  Governor  Thomas,  was 
73  years  old.  He  married  Mary,  a  daughter  of  Gover- 
nor Leverett,  was  Register  of  Probate  for  several  years, 
and  died  in  1681. 

*  Mr.  Woodbridge  was  born  at  Stanton,  in  Wiltshire,  in  1613,  was  educated 
in  part  at  Oxford,  came  to  New  England  in  1634,  and  settled  at  Newbury  as  a 
planter,  but  becoming  a  preacher,  was  ordained  at  Andover  in  1645.  He  went 
to  England  in  1647,  returned  in  1663,  and  again  settled  at  Newbury ;  was 
chosen  an  assistant  in  1683  and  1684,  and  died  17  March,  1695.  His  brother, 
Benjamin  Woodbridger  D.  D.,  was  the  first  graduate  of  Harvard  College. 


297 


III.     JOHN   HAYNES. 

Johx  Haynes,  the  third  governor  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  was  a  native  of  the  county  of  Essex,  in  England, 
where  he  possessed  an  elegant  seat,  called  Copford  Hall, 
with  which  he  inherited  an  income  of  a  thousand  pounds 
a  year.  A  gentleman  of  easy  fortune,  surrounded  by  all 
the  comforts  of  life,  he  had  no  motive  of  a  pecuniary  na- 
ture urging  him  to  exchange  his  native  land  for  another. 
He  had,  however,  attached  himself  to  the  puritan  inter- 
est, and  watched  with  eagerness  the  progress  of  the  emi- 
gration to  America.  The  hopes  of  the  pilgrims  were 
beginning  to  be  realized.  The  difficulties  and  dangers  of 
the  original  settlements^  had  been  surmounted.  New 
Plymouth  had  become  a  prosperous  colony,  and  the 
foundations  of  Boston,  Dorchester,  Roxbury,  Watertown, 
and  Cambridge  had  been  laid.  The  decrees  of  the  En- 
glish Star  Chamber,  and  the  persecutions  of  Archbishop 
Laud,  were  "  sifting  the  wheat  of  the  three  kingdoms,"  and 
furnishing  abundant  seed  to  plant  the  deserts  of  New  Eng- 
land with  men  of  resolute  and  unbending  hearts. 

Won  by  the  invitations  of  Governor  Winthrop  and 
others,  Mr.  Haynes,  in  1633,  determined  to  remove  to 
New  England.  Two  long  months  were  occupied  in  the 
voyage,  during  which  three  sermons  a  day  beguiled  the 
weariness  of  the  passengers,,  of  whom  there  were  two 
hundred  on  board  the  ship.  The  vessel,  which  was  cal- 
led the  Griffin,  arrived  t  Boston  on  the  4th  September, 
bringing,  in  addition  to  Mr.  Haynes,  three  of  the  most 
eminent  fathers  of  the  ~New  England  church:  Cotton, 
38 


298  JOHN    HAYNES. 

Hooker,  and  Stone,  the  first  of  whom  settled  at  Boston, 
and  the  others  at  Cambridge,  then  called  Newtown. 

A  man  like  Mr.  Haynes,  "  possessing  a  large  estate, 
and  larger  affections ;  of  a  heavenly  mind,  and  spotless 
life;  of  rare  sagacity,  and  accurate  but  unassuming  judg- 
ment ;  by  nature  tolerant,  ever  a  friend  to  freedom,  and 
ever  conciliating  peace" — for  such  is  the  modern  estimate 
of  his  character* — would  not  long  remain  unnoticed  in 
any  community.  We  accordingly  find  that  at  the  next 
election,  in  1634,  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  assistants  of 
the  colony.  In  the  same  year,  he  was  placed  on  the  ex- 
traordinary commission,  consisting  of  seven  persons,  to 
whom  was  deputed  the  disposition  of  "all  military  affairs 
whatsoever,"  with  power  to  levy  war  offensive  and  de- 
fensive, and  to  imprison,  or  put  to  death,  any  whom  they 
should  judge  to  be  enemies  to  the  commonwealth.! 

In  1635,  Mr.  Haynes  succeeded  Governor  Dudley 
in  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  colony.  "  The  reason  was, 
partly,  because  the  people  would  exercise  their  absolute 
power,  and  partly  upon  some  speeches  of  the  deputy. "J 
Roger  Ludlow  was  the  deputy  referred  to,  and  aspired 
to  be  governor  at  this  election. §  When  the  vote  was 
declared  in  favor  of  Mr.  Haynes,  he  protested  against 
the  election  as  void,  because  the  deputies  of  the  several 
towns  had  agreed  upon  the  election  before  they  came ; 

*  See  Bancroft's  Hist.  i.  362.       t  See  p.  286,  of  this  volume. 

t  Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  158. 

§  Ludlow  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Dorchester,  and  one  of  the  first  assist- 
ants of  the  colony.  Immediately  after  the  occurrences  in  1635,  when  he  thought 
his  claims  neglected,  he  left  the  colony,  and  became  an  active  and  influential 
man  in  Connecticut,  where  he  was  a  magistrate,  deputy  governor,  and  Commis- 
sioner of  the  United  Colonies.  In  1654,  he  removed  to  Virginia,  and  the  time 
of  his  death  is  unknown.  Hubbard  says  he  was  the  brother-in-law  of  EndeeotL 
He  compiled  the  first  code  of  laws  in  Connecticut. 


JOHN    HAYNES.  299 

whereupon  the  general  court  dropped  him  from  the  list 
of  magistrates.  In  the  infancy  of  the  plantation,  the 
expenses  of  government  bore  somewhat  heavily  upon 
the  people,  and  Governor  Haynes  took  occasion  to  in- 
form them,  in  his  address  upon  taking  the  chair,  "  that  he 
should  spare  the  usual  charge  towards  his  allowance, 
partly  in  respect  of  their  love  showed  towards  him,  and 
partly  for  that  he  observed  how  much  the  people  had 
been  pressed  lately  with  public  charges."* 

Soon  after  Governor  Haynes  was  installed  in  office, 
information  was  received  that  the  Dutch  authorities  at 
Manhattan,  contemplated  a  settlement  on  the  Connecti- 
cut river,  whereupon  he  sent  a  barque  round  the  cape  to 
the  Dutch  governor,  to  acquaint  him  that  the  King  had 
granted  the  river  and  country  of  Connecticut  to  English 
subjects,  and  desired  him  to  forbear  building  any  where 
thereabouts.  A  war  of  words  ensued  between  the  two 
colonies,  but  hostilities  were  averted. 

Governor  Haynes  was  superseded  in  the  following 
year,  by  Henry  Vane.  Hutchinson  says,  that  "Mr. 
Haynes  being  no  longer  a  rival  to  Mr.  Winthrop,  he 
would  have  been  the  most  popular  man,  if  Mr.  Vane's 
solemn  deportment,  although  he  was  not  then  more  than 
24  or  25  years  of  age,  had  not  engaged  almost  the  whole 
colony  in  his  favor."  Savage  says  of  Mr.  Haynes,  that  he 
was  "  fortunate  in  being  governor  of  Massachusetts,  and 
more  fortunate  in  removing  after  his  first  year  in  office, 
thereby  avoiding  our  bitter  contentions,  to  become  the 
father  of  the  new  colony  of  Connecticut." 

As  early  as  1634,  measures  had  been  taken  by  Mr. 
Haynes  and  others,  to  ascertain  the  feasibility  of  com- 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  159. 


300  JOHN    HAYNES. 

mencing  a  new  settlement  on  the  Connecticut  river. 
Straitened  for  room  at  Newtown,  they  applied  to  the 
general  court  for  leave  to  remove,  and  the  question  was 
for  sometime  debated,  and  permission  finally  refused. 
But  the  number  of  proposed  emigrants  increasing,  the 
general  court  afterwards  consented.  In  October,  1635, 
a  company  of  sixty  removed,  and  settlements  were  com- 
menced at  Windsor  and  Wethersfield;  and  John  Win- 
throp,  jr.,  returning  from  England  with  a  commission 
from  Lord  Say  and  Seal,  commenced  a  plantation  at  Say- 
brook.  The  succeeding  winter  proved  so  severe,  that 
famine  began  to  be  apprehended;  the  settlements  were 
partially  abandoned,  and  many  of  the  emigrants  were 
obliged  to  return  to  Massachusetts,  Their  sufferings 
were  extreme,  and  the  few  that  remained,  had  to  subsist 
upon  acorns,  malt,  and  grain. 

In  the  spring  of  1636,  preparations  were  made  for  a 
more  effectual  settlement  upon  the  Connecticut,  and  af- 
ter due  deliberation,  the  whole  body  of  Mr.  Hooker's 
church  and  congregation,  came  to  the  determination  to 
remove.  They  commenced  their  journey  in  the  month 
of  June.  It  was  to  be  through  a  dreary  and  trackless 
wilderness,  of  more  than  a  hundred  miles.  They  had 
no  guide  but  their  compass  *  no  covering  but  the  heav- 
ens. There  were  about  one  hundred  persons,  men,  wo- 
men, and  children— at  the  head  of  whom,  were  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Hooker,  Mr.  Samuel  Stone,  and  others,  who  were 
active  leaders  of  the  colony.  They  drove  along  with 
them,  a  hundred  and  sixty  head  of  cattle,  and  subsisted  on 
their  march  through  the  wilderness,  upon  the  wild  fruits 
which  they  found,  and  the  milk  of  their  cows.  Fish 
and  fowl  were  plenty ;  and,  as  they  usually  tarried  a  short 


JOHN    HAYNES.  301 

time  on  the  banks  of  the  little  lakes  that  lay  embosomed 
in  the  wilderness.,  their  young  men,  on  such  occasions, 
busied  themselves  in  taking  game.  Occasionally,  a  huge 
bear  would  cross  their  path  in  advance,  and  hurry  off 
affrighted  by  the  formidable  array.  The  deer,  which 
were  plenty  in  those  days,  would  snuff  up  the  breeze 
which  told  of  the  advancing  column,  and  fly  far  off  into 
the  deep  forests.  Now  a  wolf  or  panther,  more  bold 
than  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  wild,  would  loiter  by 
the  wayside,  as  if  to  dispute  the  passage  of  the  adven- 
turers, until  the  noise  of  the  herd,  or  the  shouts  of  the 
herdsmen,  or  the  ominous  crack  of  firearms,  admonished 
them  to  retire.  The  females  who  were  ill,  or  too  feeble 
to  endure  the  journey  on  foot,  which  was  through 
a  perfect  wilderness  for  more  than  a  hundred  miles, 
were  borne  in  litters  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  young 
athletic  men.  In  the  evening,  as  they  came  together, 
and  set  their  watch  to  keep  off  the  beasts  of  prey,  or 
prepare  to  guard  against  any  incursions  of  the  In- 
dians, the  prayers  of  that  little  congregation  went  up 
into  the  arches  of  heaven  to  the  Almighty's  footstool ; 
and  when  the  first  ray  of  morning  light  tipped  the  tall 
pines,  the  thanksgivings  of  humble  and  contrite  hearts 
wrere  offered  to  the  throne  of  mercy. 

The  whole  journey  occupied  nearly  a  fortnight,  and 
during  their  march  they  had  no  shelter  but  the  broad 
canopy  above,  or  such  as  the  branches  and  boughs  of  the 
trees  afforded.  Yet  they  accomplished  their  journey 
with  perfect  safety,  and  arrived  with  joy  at  their  future 
residence,  pleased  to  behold  the  beauties  of  the  noble 
valley  which  skirted  the  broad  and  beautiful  Connecticut. 
The   Indian   name   of  the   new  settlement  was  Suck- 


302  JOHN    HAYNES. 

iaug.  The  territory  was  now  purchased  of  Sunckquas- 
son,  the  Indian  sachem  of  the  neighborhood,  and  a 
good  understanding  kept  up  with  the  tribe  for  several 
years.  The  town  soon  began  to  prosper ;  the  settlers 
multiplied  in  numbers,  and  increased  in  wealth;  and 
many  of  the  existing  families  of  the  present  opulent  city, 
trace  their  descent  from  the  little  Newtown  colony,  to 
whose  exodus  we  have  adverted. 

In  the  spring  of  1637,  Mr.  Haynes  removed  his  fam- 
ily to  Connecticut,  and  settled  at  Hartford.  It  was  a  pe- 
riod of  intense  gloom  in  the  little  colony.  The  Pequots, 
then  the  most  warlike  tribe  in  New  England,  were  jeal- 
ous of  the  new  settlements,  and  plotting  their  ruin. 
Many  persons  had  been  killed,  or  taken,  and  cruelly  tor- 
tured. The  court  of  assistants  determined  on  offensive 
operations,  as  the  only  means  of  conquering  the  enemy, 
and  the  colonies  of  New  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts 
agreed  to  aid  them  in  the  struggle.  The  army  com- 
manded by  Captain  John  Mason,*  and  consisting  of 
seventy-seven  Englishmen,  sixty  Moheagan  and  river 
Indians,  and  about  two  hundred  Narragansetts,  marched 
on  the  24th  of  May  to  Nihantick,  a  frontier  to  the  Pe- 
quots, and  the  seat  of  one  of  the  Narragansett  sachems. 
The  next  morning  a  considerable  number  of  Miantoui- 

*  Capt.  John  Mason,  the  distinguished  Pequot  warrior,  was  born  about  1600, 
and  bred  to  arms  in  the  Netherlands,  under  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax.  He  came  to 
this  country  about  1632,  was  admitted  freeman  in  1635,  having  been  one  of  the 
first  settlers  of  Dorchester,  which  he  represented  in  1635  and  1636.  In  the  lat- 
ter year  he  removed  to  Windsor,  Connecticut,  was  of  Saybrook  in  1647,  and  of 
Norwich  in  1659.  He  was  a  magistrate  from  1642  to  1659,  deputy  governor, 
1660,  and  nine  succeeding  years,  and  major  general  of  Connecticut.  He  died 
at  Norwich,  1672.  His  son,  John,  a  captain,  was  wounded  in  the  great  battle 
with  the  Narragansetts,  19  Dec.  1675,  and  died  in  September  following.  De- 
scendants of  this  energetic  warrior  are  found  in  New  England,  one  of  whom  is 
the  Hon.  Jeremiah  Mason,  LL.  D.,  of  Boston. 


JOHN    HAYNES*  303 

moh's  men,  and  of  the  Nihanticks,  joined  the  English, 
who  renewed  their  march,  with  nearly  five  hundred  In- 
dians. After  marching  twelve  miles  to  a  ford  in  Pawca- 
tuck  river,  Mason  halted,  and  refreshed  his  troops,  faint- 
ing through  heat  and  scanty  provisions.  Here  many  of 
the  Narragansetts,  astonished  to  find  it  his  intention  to 
attack  the  Pequots  in  their  forts,*  withdrew,  and  returned 
home.  Under  the  guidance  of  Wequash,  a  revolted 
Pequot,  the  army  proceeded  in  its  march  toward  Mistic 
river,  where  was  one  of  the  Pequot  forts,  and,  when 
evening  approached,  pitched  their  camp  by  two  large 
rocks,  f  Two  hours  before  day,  the  troops  were  roused 
to  the  eventful  action,  the  issue  of  which  was  in  fear- 
ful suspense.  After  a  march  of  about  two  miles,  they 
came  to  the  foot  of  the  hill,  on  the  summit  of  which 
stood  the  hostile  fort.  The  day  was  nearly  dawning, 
and  no  time  was  to  be  lost.  Mason,  throwing  the  troops 
into  two  divisions,  pressed  forward  with  one  to  the  eas- 
tern, and  Underhill  with  the  other,  to  the  western  en- 
trance. When  Mason  drew  nigh  the  fort,  a  dog  barked,, 
and  an  Indian  instantly  called  out,  Owanux  !  Owanux  1 
[Englishmen  !  Englishmen  !]  The  troops  pressed  on,, 
and,  having  poured  a  full  discharge  of  their  muskets 
through  the  palisades  upon  the  astonished  enemy,  entered 
the  fort,  sword  in  hand.  A  severe  conflict  ensued.  Many 
of  the  Indians  were  slain.  Some  of  the  English  were 
killed,  others  wounded  ;  and  the  issue  of  battle  was  yet 
dubious.     At  this  critical  moment,  Mason  cried  out  to 

*  The  Pequots  had  two  forts,  one  at  Mistic  river;  another  several  miles  dis- 
tant, which  was  the  fort  of  Sassacus,  their  great  sachem,  whose  very  name 
filled  the  Indians  with  terror.  "  Sassacus,"  said  the  Narragansetts,  "  is  all  one' 
God;  no  man  can  kill  him."     I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  ix.  84. 

t  In  Groton,  Connecticut,  now  called  Porter's  rocks.     Trumbull,  i.  83, 


304  WOHN    HAYNES. 

his  men.  "  We  must  burn  them."  Entering  a  wigwam 
at  the  same  instant,  he  seized  a  fire  brand,  and  put  it 
into  the  mats  with  which  the  wigwams  were  covered ; 
and  the  combustible  habitations  were  soon  wrapped  in 
flames.  The  English,  retiring  without  the  fort,  formed 
a  circle  around  it;  and  Uncas  with  his  Indians  formed 
another  circle  in  their  rear.  The  devouring  fire,  and 
the  English  weapons,  made  rapid  and  awful  devastation. 
In  little  more  than  the  space  of  one  hour,  seventy  wig- 
wams were  burnt;  and,  either  by  the  sword  or  the  flames, 
five  hundred  or  six  hundred  Indians  perished.  Of  the 
English,  two  men  were  killed,  and  sixteen  wounded. 

The    Governor   and   council   of  Massachusetts,   on 
receiving  intelligence  of  the  success  of  the  Connecticut 
troops,  judged  it  needful  to  send  forward  but  one  hundred 
and  twenty  men.     These  troops,  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Stoughton,  arriving  at  Pequot  harbor  in  June, 
and  receiving  assistance  from  the  Narragansett  Indians, 
surrounded  a  large  body  of  Pequots  in  a  swamp,  and 
took  eighty  captives.     The  men,  thirty  in  number,  were 
killed,  but  the  women  and  children  were  saved.     Forty 
men,  raised  by  Connecticut,  and  put  under  the  command 
of  the  heroic    Mason,  joined   Stoughton's  company  at 
Pequot.*     While  the  vessels  sailed  along  the  shore,  these 
allied  troops  pursued  the  fugitive  Indians  by  land,  to 
Quinnipiack,f  and  found  some  scattering  Pequots  on  their 
march.     Receiving  information  at  Quinnipiack,  that  the 
enemy  were  at  a  considerable  distance  westward,  in  a 
great  swamp,  they  marched  in  that  direction,  with  all 

*  New  London  was  originally  called  Pequot;  and  was  occupied  by  the  Pe- 
quot tribe.     See  page  148,  of  this  volume, 
t  The  Indian  name  of  New  Haven, 


JOHN    HAYNES.  305 

possible  despatch,  about  twenty  miles,  and  came  to  the 
swamp,  where  were  eighty  or  one  hundred  warriors, 
and  nearly  two  hundred  other  Indians.  Some  of  the 
English  rushing  eagerly  forward,  were  badly  wounded ; 
and  others,  sinking  into  the  mire,  were  rescued  by  a  few  of 
their  brave  companions,  who  sprang  forward  to  their 
relief  with  drawn  swords.  Some  Indians  were  slain ; 
others,  finding  the  whole  swamp  surrounded,  desired  a 
parley ;  and,  on  the  offer  of  life,  about  two  hundred  old 
men,  women,  and  children,  among  whom  was  the  sachem 
of  the  place,  gradually  came  out,  and  submitted  to  the 
English.  The  Pequot  warriors,  indignantly  spurning 
submission,  renewed  the  action,  which,  as  far  as  it  was 
practicable,  was  kept  up  through  the  night.  A  thick  fog, 
the  next  morning,  favoring  the  escape  of  the  enemy,  ma- 
ny of  them,  among  whom  were  sixty  or  seventy  warriors, 
broke  through  the  surrounding  troops.  About  twenty 
were  killed,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty  taken  prisoners. 
The  captives  were  divided  between  Connecticut  and 
Massachusetts,  which  distributed  them  among  the  Mo- 
heagans  and  Narragansetts.  Sassacus,  the  chief  sachem, 
fled  with  about  twenty  of  his  best  men  to  the  Mohawks, 
who,  at  the  request  of  the  Narragansetts,  cut  off  his  head; 
and  his  country  now  became  a  province  of  the  English. 
However  just  the  occasion  of  this  war,  (says  Holmes,) 
humanity  demands  a  tear  on  the  extinction  of  a  valiant 
tribe,  which  preferred  death  to  dependence.* 

In  addition  to  the  embarrassments  occasioned  by  the 
struggle  with  the  Pequots,  the  settlers  of  Connecticut,  as 
the  winter  approached,  were  menaced  with  starvation. 

*  Morton,  99.  Hubbard's  Indian  Wars,  36—54.  Trumbull,  i.  69—77. 

39 


306  JOHN    HA YATE9./ 

The  snows,  which  came  frequent,  were  four  feet  deep 
from  the  4th  of  November,  1637,  until  the  23rd  of  March 
following,  and  the  cold  was  severe.  In  this  emergency  y 
through  the  agency  of  a  few  persons  sent  among  the  In- 
dians, now  at  peace,  supplies  of  corn  were  procured,  and 
the  danger  of  famine  averted. 

Governor  Haynes  accompanied  Uncas,  the  Moheagan 
sachem  to  Boston,  in  1638,  when  the  latter,  who  had  given 
offence  to  Massachusetts  by  entertaining  some  of  the  hos- 
tile Pequots,  sought  a  reconciliation.  "  This  heart,"  said 
the  sachem,  laying  his  hand  upon  his  breast,  as  he  ad- 
dressed the  governor,  "  is  not  mine,  but  yours ;  I  have 
no  men  ;  they  are  all  yours  ;  command  me  any  difficult 
thing,  I  will  do  it ;  I  will  not  believe  any  Indians'  words 
against  the  English  ;  if  any  man  shall  kill  an  Englishman, 
I  will  put  him  to  death,  were  he  never  so  dear  to  me."* 
The  presents  and  promises  of  Uncas  were  accepted,  and 
he  was  ever  afterwards  faithful  to  the  whites. 

For  a  period  of  nearly  three  years  after  the  settle- 
ment of  Connecticut,  all  the  powers  of  government  were 
exercised  by  the  magistrates.  They  had  a  general  su- 
perintendence of  all  the  affairs  of  the  plantation,  without 
any  direct  assistance  from  the  body  of  freemen. 

But  in  1639,  the  people  determined  to  establish  a 
constitution  for  themselves.  All  the  free  planters  of 
Windsor,  Hartford  and  Wethersfield  accordingly  assem- 
bled at  Hartford,  on  the  Hth  January,  and  adopted  a 
constitution,  based  on  the  broad  foundations  of  liberty 
and  religion,  which  has  been  admired  as  the  model  of  a 
republican  system,    and   continued  for  a  century  and  a 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  266.  See  also  Records  of  United  Colonies,  quoted 
in  Hutchinson's  Colony  Mass.  Bay,  142. 


JOHN    HAYNES.  307 

half  to  be  the  basis  of  the  civil  government  of  Connec- 
ticut. 

This  constitution  ordained  that  there  should  be  annu- 
ally two  general  courts,  or  legislative  assemblies,  one  in 
April,  and  the  other  in  September ;  that  in  the  first,  all 
public  officers  should  be  chosen ;  that  a  governor  should 
be  annually  appointed ;  that  no  one  should  be  chosen  to 
this  office  unless  he  had  been  a  magistrate,  and  also  a 
member  of  some  church;  that  the  choice  of  officers 
should  be  by  ballot,  and  by  the  whole  body  of  freemen  ; 
and  that  every  man  was  to  be  considered  a  freeman,  who 
had  been  received  as  a  member  by  any  of  the  towns, 
and  had  taken  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  commonwealth; 
that  each  of  the  three  towns  should  send  four  deputies 
to  the  general  court ;  and  that  when  there  was  an  equal 
division  of  votes  on  any  question,  the  governor  should 
have  the  casting  vote.* 

The  first  election  under  this  constitution  was  held 
in  the  April  following,  when  John  Haynes  was  chosen 
the  first  governor  of  Connecticut.  His  distinguished 
character,  and  the  important  part  he  had  taken  in  the 
early  settlement  of  the  colony,  naturally  pointed  him 
out  for  this  station.  One  of  his  earliest  acts,  was  to 
press  upon  the  assembly  the  necessity  of  establishing  a 
code  of  laws ;  and  that  body  proceeded  as  occasion 
required  to  discharge  that  duty.  The  laws  at  first  were 
few,  and  time  was  taken  to  consider  and  digest  them. 
The  first  statute  in  the  Connecticut  code  is  a  kind  of 
declaration,  or  bill  of  rights.  It  ordains,  that  no  man's 
life  shall  be  taken  away ;  no  man's  honor  or  good  name 

*  Hazard,  i.  437—441,  where  the  Constitution  is  inserted.  Trumbull,  i.  App. 
No.  3. 


308  JOHN    HAYNES. 

be  stained;  no  man's  person  shall  be  arrested,  restrained, 
banished,  dismembered,  nor  any  wise  punished ;  that 
no  man  shall  be  deprived  of  his  wife  or  children;  no 
man's  estate  or  goods  shall  be  taken  away  from  him,  nor 
any  wise  endamaged,  under  color  of  law,  or  coun- 
tenance of  authority,  unless  it  should  be  by  the  virtue 
of  some  express  law  of  the  colony  warranting  the  same, 
established  by  the  general  court,  and  sufficiently  pub- 
lished; or  in  case  of  the  defect  of  such  law,  in  any 
particular  case,  by  some  clear  and  plain  rule  of  the  word 
of  God,  in  which  the  whole  court  shall  concur.  It  was 
also  ordained,  that  all  persons  in  the  colony,  whether  in- 
habitants or  not,  should  enjoy  the  same  law  and  justice 
without  partiality  or  delay.* 

Under  the  constitution  of  Connecticut,  no  person 
could  be  chosen  governor  oftener  than  once  in  two  years. 
Edward  Hopkins  was  accordingly  chosen  to  that  office 
in  1640.  Governor  Haynes  was  again  chosen  in  1641 ; 
but  in  1642,  from  some  disagreement  among  the  freemen, 
both  Mr.  Haynes  and  Mr.  Hopkins  were  dropped  in  the 
election,  and  George  Wyllys  was  appointed  governor. 

In  1643,  Gov.  Haynes  was  re-instated  in  office.  In 
the  same  year,  four  of  the  New  England  colonies  united 
in  a  confederation  for  mutual  protection  and  defence. 
This  union  was  proposed  by  the  colonies  of  Connecti- 
cut and  New  Haven,  as  early  as  1638,  but  was  not  final- 
ly completed  until  1643.f 

Gov.  Haynes  was  one  of  the  most  active  agents  in  ac- 
complishing this  important  measure,  and  spent  several 
weeks  in  Massachusetts  in  bringing  the  matter  to  a  con- 
clusion.    He  was  for  several  years  one  of  the  commis- 

*  Old  code  of  Connecticut.       t  See  pp.  119 — 122,  of  this  volume. 


JOHN    HAYNES.  309 

sioners  of  the  United  Colonies  from  Connecticut  under 
this  confederation. 

In  the  autumn  of  1646,  Governor  Haynes, being  on  his 
way  from  Connecticut  to  Boston,  was  overtaken  by  a 
tempest,  and  came  near  perishing.  Gov.  Winthrop,  in 
a  letter,  dated  19  November,  says,  "Mr.  Haynes  is  come 
safe  to  us,  but  in  great  danger  to  have  perished  in  the 
tempest,  but  that  beyond  expectation,  wandering  in  the 
night,  God  brought  him  to  an  empty  wigwam,  where 
they  found  two  fires  burning,  and  wood  ready  for  use. 
There  they  were  kept  two  nights  and  a  day,  the  storm 
continuing  so  long  with  them,  with  much  snow  as  well 
as  rain."* 

Gov.  Haynes  had  during  the  same  year  escaped  as- 
sassination. Sequassen,  a  petty  sachem,  hired  one  of 
the  Waronoke  Indians  to  kill  Gov.  Hopkins  and  Gover- 
nor Haynes,  with  Mr.  Whiting,  one  of  the  magistrates. 
Sequassen's  hatred  to  Uncas  was  insatiable,  and,  prob- 
ably, was  directed  against  these  gentlemen,  on  ac- 
count of  the  just  and  faithful  protection  which  they  had 
afforded  him.  The  plan  was,  that  the  Waronoke  In- 
dian should  kill  them,  and  charge  the  murder  upon  Uncas, 
and  by  that  means  to  engage  the  English  against  him  to 
his  ruin.  After  the  massacre  of  these  gentlemen,  Se- 
quassen and  the  murderer  were  to  make  their  escape  to 
the  Mohawks.  The  Indian  who  was  hired  to  perpetrate 
the  murder,  after  he  had  received  several  girdles  of  wam- 
pum, as  a  part  of  his  reward,  considering  how  another  of 
his  tribe,  named  Bushheag,  who  attempted  to  kill  a 
woman  at  Stamford  sometime  before,  had  been  appre- 
hended and  executed  at  New  Haven — conceived  that  it 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  ii.  352. 


310  JOHN    HAYNES. 

would  be  dangerous  to  murder  English  sachems.  He 
also  revolved  in  his  mind,  that  if  the  English  should  not 
apprehend  him  and  kill  him,  he  should  always  be  afraid 
of  them,  and  have  no  comfort  of  his  life.  He  also  re- 
collected that  the  English  gave  a  reward  to  the  Indians, 
who  discovered  and  brought  in  Bushheag.  He  therefore 
determined,  that  it  would  be  better  to  discover  the  plot, 
than  to  be  guilty  of  so  bloody  and  dangerous  an  action. 
In  this  mind  he  came  to  Hartford,  a  few  days  after  he 
had  received  the  girdles,  and  made  known  the  plot.* 

Governor  Haynes,  while  resident  in  Massachusetts, 
se^ms  to  have  embraced  the  extreme  views  of  Dudley, 
Peters,  and  others,  in  reference  to  rigor  and  strictness 
in  government ;  and  he  arraigned  the  conduct  of  Gov. 
Winthrop,  as  being  too  lenient  toward  offenders,  where- 
upon greater  strictness  in  discipline  civil  and  military 
was  enjoined  upon  the  magistrates.!  But  after  his  remo- 
val to  Connecticut,  he  seems  to  have  become  more  toler- 
ant in  his  views,  and  to  have  regretted  the  harsh  pro- 
ceedings adopted  in  Massachusetts  against  the  Anabap- 
tists. Roger  Williams,  in  a  letter  dated  from  Providence? 
22d  June,  1670,  says — "The  matter  with  us  is  not 
about  these  children's  toys  of  land,  meadows,  cattle, 
government,  &c.  But  here  all  over  this  colonie,  a 
great  number  of  weake  and  distressed  soules  scattered  are 
flying  hither  from  Old  and  New  England;  the  Most 
High  and  only  wise  hath  in  his  infinite  wisdom  provid- 
ed this  country  and  this  corner  as  a  shelter  for  the  poor 
and  persecuted,  according  to  their  several  perswasions. 
And  thus  that  heavenly  man,  Mr.  Hains,  Governour  of 
Connecticut,  though  he  pronounced  the  sentence  of  my 

*  Trumbull,  i.  158.       t  See  Life  of  Winthrop,  p.  250,  ante. 


JOHN    HAYNES.  311 

long  banishment  against  me  at  Cambridge,  then  New- 
town, yet  said  unto  me  in  his  own  house  at  Hartford, 
being  then  in  some  difference  with  the  Bay,  "I  think, 
Mr.  Williams,  that  I  must  now  confesse  to  you,  that  the 
most  wise  God  hath  provided  and  cut  out  this  part  of 
the  world  for  a  refuge  receptacle  of  all  sorts  of  con- 
sciences. I  am  now  under  a  cloud,  and  my  brother 
Hooker,  with  the  Bay,  as  you  have  been;  we  have  re- 
moved from  them  thus  far,  and  yet  they  are  not  satis- 
fied."* 

Governor  Haynes  died  at  Hartford,  in    1654.     He 
was  twice  married,  and  had  eight  children ;  five  sons  and 
three  daughters.     By  his  first  wife,  he  had  Robert,  Heze- 
kiah,  John,  Roger,  and  Mary ;  and  by  his  second,  Joseph, 
Ruth,  and  Mabel.     When  he  came  into  New  England, 
he  left  his  sons,  Robert,  and  Hezekiah,  and  his  daugh- 
ter, Mary,  at  Copford  Hall.     Upon  the  commencement 
of  the  civil  wars  in  England,  Robert  espoused  the  royal 
cause;  but  Hezekiah,  declaring  for  the  parliament,  was^ 
afterwards,  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major-general,  under 
Cromwell.     Upon  the  ruin  of  the  king's  affairs,  Robert 
was    put   under  confinement,    and    died    without  issue.' 
Hezekiah  enjoyed  Copford  Hall,  under  his  father,  until 
his  decease.     He  then  possessed  it  as  a  paternal  inheri- 
tance, and  it  descended  to  his  heirs.     John  and  Roger, 
who  came  into  this  country  with  their  father,  sometime 
before  his  death  returned  to  England.     Roger  died   on 
his  passage  or  soon  after  his  arrival.     John  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in   1656,  returned  and  was  admitted 
to  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  at  Cambridge  in  England, 
and  was  settled  in  the  ministry,  at  or  near  Colchester, 

*  Williams'  Letter  to  Major  Mason,  in  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  i.  280. 


312  JOHN    HAYNES. 

in  the  county  of  Essex,  in  England,  where  he  died  before 
1698,  leaving  issue.  Joseph,  graduated  at  Harvard  Col- 
lege in  1658,  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  first  church  in 
Hartford,  and  died  24  May,  1679,  leaving  one  son,  John, 
a  magistrate,  and  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  Connec- 
ticut, who  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1689.  Mary 
married  Joseph  Cook  in  England ;  Ruth  married  Sam- 
uel Wyllys,  son  of  Governor  Wyllys,  of  Hartford,  and 
Mabel  was  married  to  James  Russell,  of  Charlestown,  a 
counsellor,  judge,  and  treasurer  in  Massachusetts;  and 
all  had  issue.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Haynes,  of  Hartford,  had 
one  son,  John,  a  gentleman  of  reputation,  for  some  years 
one  of  the  magistrates  and  judges  of  the  colony.  He  had 
sons,  but  they  died  without  issue,  and  the  name  became 
extinct  in  this  country. 

Trumbull,  in  noticing  the  death  of  Governor  Haynes, 
says — "  He  was  not  considered,  in  any  respect,  inferior 
to  Governor  Winthrop.  He  appeared  to  be  a  gentle- 
man of  eminent  piety,  strict  morals,  and  sound  judgment. 
He  paid  attention  to  family  government.  His  great  in- 
tegrity, and  wise  management  of  all  affairs,  in  private  and 
public,  so  raised*  and  fixed  his  character,  in  the  esteem 
of  the  people,  that  they  always,  when  the  constitution 
would  permit,  placed  him  in  the  chief  seat  of  govern- 
ment, and  continued  him  in  it  till  his  death."* 

"  Trumbull's  Hist.  Conn.  i.  216: 


313 


IV.     SIR  HENRY  VANE. 

The  Vanes  are  descended  from  an  ancient  family 
in  Wales.     The  ancestor  of  this  family,  and  of  the  Earls 
of  Westmoreland  and  Darlington,  was  Howel  ap  Vane,  of 
Monmouthshire,  who  lived  before  the  Conquest.     The 
first  of  the   name  distinctly  noticed  in  history,  is  Sir 
Henry  Vane,  who  was  knighted  by  Edward,  the  Black 
Prince,  for  his  bravery  at  the  battle  of  Poictiers,  in  1356. 
Six  generations  are  recorded  between  Howel  ap  Vane 
and  the  Knight  of  Poictiers,  and  several  generations  suc- 
ceeded, when  we  find  another  of  the  family,  Sir  Ralph 
Vane,  knighted  by  Henry  VIII.,  for  good  conduct  at  the 
siesre  of  Boulogne.     He  died  without  issue,  and  was  sue- 
ceeded  by  John,  his  brother,  who  changed  the  name  to 
Fane,  and  left  two  sons,  Henry,  the  ancestor  of  Lord 
Barnard,  and  Richard,  from  whom  is  descended  the  Earl 
of  Westmoreland.     Henry,    grandfather   of    Sir  Henry 
Vane,  died  at  Roan,  14  October,  1596.     His  son  Henry 
of  Raby  Castle  in  Durham,   and  Harlow  in  Kent,  who 
resumed    the  name  of  Vane,  was   born   18   February, 
1589,   and    was   knighted  by  James  I.  in    1611.     Af- 
ter   finishing    his    travels,    and    completing   his   educa- 
tion in  foreign  languages,  and  the  other  learning  of  his 
day,  he  was  elected  to  Parliament  from  Carlisle  in  1614,* 
and  continued  from  that  time,  for  more  than  thirty  years, 
to  exercise  a  controlling  influence  in  the  senate  and  the 

*  Sir  Henry  Vane,  the  elder,  was  chosen  from  Carlisle,  in  the  parliaments 
which  assembled  in  1614,  1620,  and  1625,  and  in  every  parliament  afterwaids  to 
the  time  of  his  death,  being  elected  for  Thetford  in  Norfolk,  Wilton  in  Wiltshire^ 
and  for  the  county  of  Kent.     Willis'  Notitia  Parliamentary. 

40 


314  SIR    HENRY    VANE. 

cabinet.  King  James  appointed  him  Cofferer  to  Prince 
Charles,  an  office  which  he  continued  to  sustain,  after 
the  latter  had  ascended  the  throne.  He  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  his  Majesty's  Privy  Council.  In  1631,  he  went 
to  Denmark  as  Ambassador  Extraordinary,  and  shortly 
afterwards,  in  the  same  capacity,  he  visited  the  court  of 
GustavusAdolphus,  King  of  Sweden.  In  both  countries, 
he  concluded  treaties  of  great  importance  to  the  com- 
merce and  power  of  England.  He  also  acted  a  con- 
spicuous part  in  military  affairs.  In  1633,  and  again  in 
1639,  he  entertained  King  Charles  with  great  splendor 
in  his  castle  at  Raby.  In  the  last  named  year  he  was 
made  Treasurer  of  the  Household,  and  advanced  to  the 
highest  seat  in  the  administration,  as  his  Majesty's  Prin- 
cipal Secretary  of  State.  The  Earl  of  Strafford  was  his 
rival,  and  after  the  Earl  had  been  attainted  and  brought 
to  the  block,  through  the  instrumentality  of  Sir  Henry 
Vane  and  his  son,  the  King  became  offended,  and  re- 
moved the  elder  Vane  from  his  offices.  He  remained, 
however,  in  parliament,  until  ejected  by  Cromwell,  in 
1653.     He  died  in  1654. 

Sir  Henry  Vane,  the  elder,  married  Frances,  daugh- 
ter and  heiress  of  Thomas  Darcy,  of  Essex,  and  had  a 
family  of  fourteen  children,  Sir  Henry,  the  principal 
subject  of  this  memoir,  being  the  eldest,  and  born  in 
1612.  Two  of  his  brothers,  Thomas  and  John,  died 
young.  George  was  knighted,  22  Nov.  1640,  and 
buried  at  Long  Newton,  in  Durham,  1  May,  1679,  having 
had  thirteen  children.  Charles  was  distinguished  as  a  di- 
plomatist in  the  times  of  the  Commonwealth,  particularly 
as  Envoy  to  Lisbon.  Margaret,  the  eldest  sister,  3  June, 
1639,    married    Sir   Thomas   Pelham,    ancestor  of  the 


SIR    HENRY    VANE.  315 

families  of  the  Duke  of  New  Castle,  Earl  of  Chichester, 
and  Lord  Yarborough.  Anne,  born  in  Aug.  1623,  mar- 
ried Sir  Thomas  Liddell,  of  Ravensworth  Castle,  Dur- 
ham, who  died  in  1697.  Frances,  born  30  April,  1630, 
married  Sir  Robert  Honeywood,  and  another  married 
Sir  Francis  Vincent.* 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  young  Vane's  entrance  into 
life  was  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances.  At  six- 
teen years  of  age,  he  became  a  gentleman  commoner  of 
Magdalen  College,  Oxford.  In  his  early  youth,  accord- 
ing to  his  own  account,  he  had  been  giddy,  wild,  and 
fond  of  "good  fellowship,"  but  the  year  before  entering 
College  he  became  seriously  inclined.  As  he  progressed 
in  his  studies,  he  became  alienated  from  the  doctrines  and 
forms  of  the  established  church,  and  when  the  period  of  his 
matriculation  arrived,  he  quitted  his  gown,  declined  to 
take  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  supremacy,  and  thus  for- 
feited his  membership  at  the  University.  Leaving  Ox- 
ford, he  passed  over  to  the  Continent,  visited  Holland 
and  France,  and  spent  some  time  in  Geneva. 

The  rumor  of  his  abandonment  of  the  church,  soon 
became  known  to  the  King,  and  his  Majesty  was  advised 
to  take  steps  to  recover  him  to  the  cause  of  the  establish- 
ment. Archbishop  Laud,  too  tyrannical  to  be  a  safe 
counsellor  or  friend,  undertook  to  reclaim  the  young  dis- 
senter, but  failed.  The  circumstances  caused  some  excite- 
ment in  the  higher  circles  of  English  society  at  the  time. 
Sir  Henry  Vane,  the  elder,  then  of  his  Majesty's  Privy 
Council,  who  was  strongly  opposed  to  the  puritans,  was 
greatly  disturbed  by  the  course  of  his  son.     To  relieve 

*  Betham's  Baronetage  of  England.     See   also   Playfair's  British  Family 
Antiquities,  and  the  Biographia  Britannica,  art.  Vane 


316  SIR    HENRY    VANE. 

his  father  from  embarrassment,  young  Vane  determined 
to  remove  to  America.  At  first,  the  father  was  opposed 
to  the  plan ;  but  afterwards  yielded,  at  the  instance  of 
the  King. 

Mr.  Vane  arrived  at  Boston,  in  one  of  the  ships  that 
came  over  in  the  autumn  of  1635.  On  the  1st  of  No- 
vember, he  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  church  of 
Boston,  and  on  the  3d  of  March  following,  to  the  free- 
dom of  the  colony.* 

The  colonists  were  naturally  prepared  to  receive  him 
with  open  arms ;  and  their  regard  and  attachment  were 
increased,  as  they  became  personally  acquainted  with  him. 
His  interesting  demeanor,  grave  and  commanding  aspect, 
and  extraordinary  talents;  but  above  all  his  extensive 
theological  attainments,  entire  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
religion,  earnest  zeal  for  its  institutions,  and  the  un- 
affected delight  with  which  he  waited  upon  its  ordinances 
and  exercises,  won  the  admiration,  love,  and  veneration 
of  the  Puritans.  After  a  short  residence  in  the  country, 
when  the  annual  election  came  round,  in  May,  1636 f  he 
was  elected  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  being  at  that 
time  but  twenty-four  years  of  age. 

His  administration  was  brief  and  stormy.  He  con- 
tended for  principles  which  were  in  advance  of  the  times, 
and  soon  found  the  applause  which  every  where  met  his 
arrival,  turned  into  distrust,  and  eventually  into  opposi- 
tion. 

When  his  election  as  governor  was  announced,  a  sa- 
lute was  fired  by  the  shipping  in  the  harbor,  there  being 
at  the  time  some  fifteen  large  vessels  in  port.  The  lead- 
ing men  had  misgivings  about  there  being  so  many  for- 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  170;  ii.  366. 


SIR    HENRY    VANE.  317 

eign  vessels  in  the  harbor,  and  were  apprehensive  lest 
the  presence  of  their  officers  and  crews  should  corrupt 
the  morals  of  the  inhabitants.  Governor  Vane  under- 
took to  remedy  the  evil ;  and  inviting  the  captains  of  all 
the  ships  to  dine  with  him,  he  succeeded  in  effecting  an 
arrangement,  by  which  inward  bound  vessels  were  to 
remain  below  the  fort,  until  the  Governor's  pass  should 
be  obtained  ;  all  invoices  to  be  submitted  to  the  inspection 
of  government  before  landing;  and  none  of  the  ships' 
crews  to  remain  on  shore  after  sunset.* 

Soon  after  this,  the  mate  of  a  British  vessel  affected  to 
be  very  indignant  because  the  King's  colors  had  not  been 
displayed  upon  the  fort ;  and  in  a  moment  of  excitement 
he  denounced  the  colonists  as  a  set  of  "rebels  and  trai- 
tors." The  people  became  so  clamorous  against  the 
mate,  for  this  insult  upon  their  loyalty,  that  Gov.  Vane 
was  obliged  to  order  his  arrest.  The  crew  resisted  the 
marshal,  but  the  captain  of  the  vessel  at  last  surrendered 
the  mate,  who  made  an  apology ;  and  this  being  done, 
the  British  officers  were  inclined  to  insist,  that  the  flag 
should  be  hoisted  over  the  fort.  This  was  a  sad  dilem- 
ma for  the  puritans.  Endecott  had  just  before  torn  the 
cross  from  the  flag  at  Salem,  and  now  that  they  were  re- 
quired to  hoist  the  flag,  on  which  the  dreaded  Papal 
Cross  was  represented,  was  an  abomination.  On  the 
other  hand,  to  refuse  to  acknowledge  the  King's  sove- 
reignty by  displaying  his  flag,  might  subject  them  to  great 
difficulty.  They  hoped  to  escape,  however,  by  the  re- 
ply that  there  were  no  such  colors  in  the  country.  The 
captains  offered  to  lend  them  a  flag;  and  then  the  ques- 
tion had  to  be  submitted  to  the  clergy.     The  result  was, 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  187. 


318  SIR    HENRY    VANE. 

that  the  request  of  the  captains  was  at  last  refused !  Gov- 
ernor Vane,  although  a  puritan,  strenuously  opposed 
this  over  scrupulous  conduct  of  the  magistrates,  and  was 
supported  by  Dudley,  one  of  the  straitest  of  the  sect. 
And  the  obnoxious  flag,  with  the  terrible  cross,  was 
finally  displayed  without  the  authority  of  the  government, 
on  the  personal  responsibility  of  Governor  Vane  and  Mr. 
Dudley.  From  this  hour  the  popularity  of  Governor 
Vane  declined. 

During  the  administration  of  Governor  Vane,  Mrs. 
Anne  Hutchinson,  the  founder  of  the  sect  of  antinomians, 
arrived  from  England.  Possessing  extraordinary  gifts, 
the  happiness  of  her  life  consisted  in  religious  exercises 
and  investigations.  It  was  her  fortune,  (says  Upham,) 
"to  raise  a  contention  and  kindle  a  strife  in  the  infant 
commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  which  has  secured  to 
her  name  a  distinction  as  lasting  as  our  annals."*  She 
established  meetings,  and  set  herself  up  as  a  spiritual 
teacher.  Her  opinions  were  hostile  to  those  of  the  cler- 
gy and  the  government;  but  the  power  of  her  eloquence 
and  exertions  soon  carried  the  people  of  Boston  with 
her;  and  when  the  government  took  steps  to  silence  her, 
the  sympathy  became  almost  universal  in  that  city.  All 
beyond  the  limits  of  Boston  was  under  the  sway  of  the 
dominant  clergy.  Governor  Vane  espoused  the  cause  of 
Mrs.  Hutchinson,  as  an  advocate  of  religious  freedom, 
and  continued  to  defend  her,  until  at  the  close  of  his  ad- 
ministration, he  returned  to  England. 

The  religious  views  of  this  extraordinary  woman, 
which  set  the  colony  in  a  flame,  are  substantially  express- 
ed in  the  following  description. 

*  See  Upham's  Life  of  Sir  Henry  Vane,  in  I  Sparks'  Biography,  iv.  123. 


SIR    HENRY    VANE.  319 

She  believed  that  it  was  the  dwelling  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  believer's  heart,  that  is,  the  possession  and 
exercise  of  the  pure  and  genuine  and  divine  spirit  of 
Christianity  in  the  soul  itself,  which  constituted  justifica- 
tion, or  made  a  person  acceptable  to  God ;  that  the  ex- 
ternal and  formal  indications  of  piety,  or  sanctification, 
might  appear  where  this  inward  spirit  was  not  expe- 
rienced, and  that  in  such  cases  they  were  utterly  worth- 
less ;  and  that  the  great  end  of  the  religion  revealed  in 
the  Scriptures,  was  not  so  much  to  make  our  conduct  or 
outward  deportment  correct,  or  bring  us  under  a  coven- 
ant of  works,  as  to  include  us  under  a  covenant  of  grace, 
by  imparting  to  our  souls  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God. 

However  unpalatable  such  doctrines  were  in  a  for- 
mal and  sanctimonious  condition  of  society  and  manners, 
they  would  probably  meet  with  a  hearty  response  from 
enlightened  Ghristains  of  all  denominations  at  the  present 
day.  It  is  indeed  wonderful,  that  a  female  in  Mrs. 
Hutchinson's  circumstances,  placed  beyond  the  reach  of 
every  influence  that  might  be  thought  necessary  to  lead 
to  such  results,  encompassed  by  the  privations  of  a  wil- 
derness and  the  cares  of  a  young  and  numerous  family, 
could  have  made  such  an  advance  beyond  the  religious 
knowledge  of  her  age.* 

When  the  next  election  came  round,  the  controversy 
was  at  its  height.  Vane,  although  he  meditated  a  return 
to  England,  was  the  candidate  of  the  friends  of  toleration, 
and  Winthrop  was  supported  by  the  clergy  and  magis- 
trates. The  fathers  and  founders  of  the  colony  now  re- 
gained the  ascendancy.  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  and  her  broth- 
er, John  Wheelwright,  were  banished,  and  some  of  the 

*  Upham's  Vane,  in  I  Sparks'  Biog.  iv.  138. 


320  SIR    HENRY    VANE. 

principal  persons  in  Boston  who  had  defended  her  were 
disarmed.*  Governor  Vane,  after  a  spirited  pamphlet 
controversy  with  Governor  Winthrop,  on  the  great  ques- 
tions at  issue,  bade  adieu  to  the  colony. f  He  took  pas- 
sage for  England,  in  August,  1637,  accompanied  by  Lord 
Ley,  a  young  nobleman,  son  and  heir  of  the  Earl  of  Marl- 
borough, who  had  come  over  a  short  time  before  to  see 
the  country.  A  large  concourse  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Boston  followed  their  honored  friend  and  former  chief 
magistrate  to  the  wharves,  and  many  accompanied  him 
to  the  vessel.  A  parting  salute  was  fired  from  the  town, 
and  another  from  the  castle. 

Governor  Vane's  first  appearance  in  public  life,  after 
his  return  to  England,  was  in  1640.  About  this  time, 
through  his  father's  interest  with  the  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland,  then  Lord  High  Admiral  of  England,  he  was 
joined  with  Sir  William  Russell  in  the  lucrative  office  of 
Tieasurer  of  the  Navy,  whom  he  supplanted  in  1643,  and 
became  sole  Treasurer.  He  took  his  seat  in  the  House 
of  Commons  on  the  13th  April,  1640,  as  member  for 
Kingston  upon  Hull. 

So  great  was  the  reputation  he  had  previously  ac- 
quired, and  the  impression  produced  by  his  appearance 
and  conduct  in  the  House  during  the  brief  continuance 
of  this  Parliament,  that  it  became  an  object  of  some 
importance  to  secure  his  favor  and  influence  to  the  gov- 
ernment. He  was  accordingly  signalized  by  the  expres- 
sions of  royal  regard.  In  June,  1640,  he  received  from 
King  Charles  the  honors  of  knighthood,  and  was  there- 

*  See  notices  of  the  antinomian  heats,  in  pp.  254 — 258,  287,  288,  of  this 
volume. 

t  The  pamphlets  comprising  this  controversy  are  preserved  in  Hutchinson's 
Collection,  pp.  67—100. 


SIR    HENRY    VANE.  321 

after,  until  the  death  of  his  father,  in  1654,  distinguished 
by  the  title,  either  of  Sir  Henry  Vane  the  Younger,  or 
Sir  Henry  Vane  of  Raby  Castle,  Knight. 

A  new  parliament  having  been  summoned  by  the 
King,  Sir  Henry  Vane  was  re-elected,  and  took  his  seat 
in  the  celebrated  Long  Parliament,  Which  commenced  on 
the  3d  November,  1640.  His  career  from  this  period  was 
somewhat  distinguished  in  its  bearings  upon  the  destiny 
of  England.  He  took  an  open  stand  against  the  arbitrary 
measures  of  the  King,  and  was  soon  considered  one  of 
the  principal  leaders  of  the  party  of  republicans  in 
Parliament.  Wood,  in  his  Mhenice  Oxonie?ises,  thus 
utters  the  opinion  of  a  royalist  of  Vane :  "  In  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Long  Parliament  he  was  a  promoter  of 
the  rebellion,  a  frequent  committee-man,  a  speech-maker, 
a  preacher,  an  underminer,  a  juggling  fellow,  and  a  plot- 
ter to  gain  the  estates  of  other  persons,  that  adhered  to 
his  Majesty  in  the  worst  of  times.  In  sum,  he  was  the 
Proteus  of  the  times,  a  mere  hotch-potch  of  religion, 
chief  ringleader  of  all  the  frantic  sectarians,  of  a  turbu- 
lent spirit  and  working  brain,  of  a  strong  composition  of 
choler  and  melancholy,  an  inventor  not  only  of  whim- 
seys  in  religion,  but  also  of  crotchets  in  the  state, 
(as  his  several  models  testify,)  and  composed  only  of 
treason,  ingratitude,  and  baseness."*  Clarendon  gives 
the  description  of  him  already  quoted,  on  page  254 ; 
while  Hallam,  in  his  Constitutional  History  of  England, 
speaks  of  him  as  follows  :  "  The  royalists  have  spoken 
of  Vane  with  extreme  dislike ;  yet  it  should  be  remem- 
bered, that  he  was  not  only  incorrupt,  but  disinterested, 
inflexible  in  conforming  his  public  conduct  to  his  prin- 

*  Athenice  Oxonienses,  iii.  col.  580. 

41 


322  SIR    HENRY    VANE, 

ciples,  and  averse  to  every  sanguinary  and  oppressive 
measure ;  qualities  not  very  common  in  revolutionary 
chiefs."* 

In  the  movements  of  the  party.,  headed  by  Mr.  Pym, 
which  led  the  Earl  of  Strafford  to  the  block,  and  pre- 
pared the  way  for  the  overthrow  of  the  monarchy.  Sir 
Henry  Vane  bore  a  conspicuous  part.  Sir  Thomas 
Wentworth,  then  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  in  1639^ 
had  opposed  the  appointment  of  the  elder  Vane  as  Sec- 
retary of  State ;  and  when  raised  to  the  peerage,  in 
January,  1640,  as  Earl  of  Strafford,  he  procured  his  pa- 
tent to  be  made  out  with  the  title  of  "  Baron  Raby  of 
Raby  Castle,"  thus  appropriating  the  name  of  an  estate 
belonging-  to  Vane.  Clarendon  says,  it  was  ei  an  act  of 
the  most  unnecessary  provocation,"  on  the  part  of  Straf- 
ford, and  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  Earl  was  made 
to  atone  for  the  insult  upon  the  scaffold ;  for  from  this 
period  the  Vanes,  father  and  son,  pursued  him  with 
an  irreconcileable  hatred.  After  the  EarPs  impeach- 
ment, when  the  bill  was  likely  to  fall  to  the  ground  for 
want  of  evidence,  Sir  Henry  Vane  communicated  a 
paper,  taken  from  his  father's  closet,  containing  memo- 
randa, taken  by  the  Secretary,  of  opinions  given  by  the 
Earl  and  others  at  a  Council  on  the  5th  May,  1640. 
This  paper,  (the  production  of  which,  under  all  the  cir- 
cumstances, is  a  stain  upon  the  character  of  the  two 
Vanes,)  and  the  elder  Vane's  testimony,  caused  the  at- 
tainder of  the  Earl.f 

*  Hallam's  Constit.  Hist. 

t  On  the  11th  November,  1640,  the  House  of  Commons  resolved  upon  an 
impeachment  of  the  Earl  of  Strafford,  and  Pym,  the  great  parliamentary  leader, 
was  appointed  to  manage  the  impeachment.  The  charges  were  reduced  to 
28   articles,   alledging  various   misdemeanors  and  traitorous  counsels   to   the 


SIR    HENRY    VANE.  323 

in  February,  1641,  he  carried  up  to  the  House  of 
Lords  the  impeachment  against  Archbishop  Laud  ;  and 
in  the  great  debate  upon  the  Episcopacy,  in  June,  1641, 
he  distinguished  himself  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
When  the  Assembly  of  Divines  was  summoned,  in  1643, 
he  was  nominated  by  Parliament  as  one  of  the  lay  mem- 
bers. In  the  same  year,  when  Parliament  found  it  ne- 
cessary to  gain  assistance  to  enable  them  to  bear  up 
against  the  King,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  Commis- 
sioners to  proceed  to  Edinburgh,  for  that  purpose. 
The  mission  was  perfectly  successful.  The  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant  was  agreed  upon  ;  a  complete 
union  was  formed  between  the  patriots  of  England  and 
Scotland,  upon  a  basis  which  also  comprehended  the 
Irish;  and  was  adapted  to  secure  their  favor  and  aid. 

King.  Upon  the  impeachment  no  allusion  appeals  to  have  been  made  by  Mr. 
Pym  to  Sir  Henry  Vane,  or  to  any  evidence  in  his  possession ;  and  there  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  any  judgment  on  the  impeachment.  On  the  10th  of 
April,  1641,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  Sir  Henry  Vane,  the  younger,  and  Mr. 
Pym,  were  enjoined  to  disclose  any  facts  within  their  knowledge.  Pym  now 
produced  a  copy  of  the  private  notes  taken  by  Secretary  Vane  of  a  meeting  of 
the  Council  on  the  5th  May,  going  to  shew  that  the  Earl  of  Strafford,  at  that 
meeting,  advised  the  King  to  traitorous  measures,  and  the  words  of  the  paper, 
purporting  to  be  the  very  words  of  the  Earl,  were  quoted.  The  elder  Vane  af- 
fected great  surpiise  at  the  revelation,  but  after  proper  dalliance,  upon  his  last 
examination,  confirmed  the  principal  charge,  and  the  younger  Vane  coolly  ex- 
plained how  he  obtained  the  private  memorandum  from  his  father's  secret  cabi- 
net, and  imparted  it  to  Mr.  Pym.  On  the  same  day  that  this  scene  took  place,  the 
bill  of  attainder  against  the  Earl  was  first  read.  An  examination  of  the  trial  on 
the  impeachment  shews,  that  not  one  of  the  other  Lords  who  were  at  the  Coun- 
cil of  the  5th  May,  could  remember  any  such  words  as  were  charged  in  the  pa- 
per thus  produced,  (when  other  evidence  was  likely  to  fail,)  and  sworn  to  by 
Secretary  Vane.  Nor  does  it  appear  from  the  records  that  the  House  of  Com- 
mons passed  any  vote  justifying  the  conduct  of  the  younger  Vane  on  this  occa- 
sion, as  has  been  stated  by  some  of  his  biographers.  Whatever  may  have  been 
the  demerits  of  the  great  Earl  of  Strafford,  a  careful  examination  of  all  the  au- 
thorities forces  upon  us  the  conviction  that  he  fell  a  sacrifice  to  the  enmity  of 
the  two  Vanes.  See  Whitelock's  Memorials,  Rushworth,  Nalson,  L'Estrange, 
and  Clarendon,  and  other  contemporary  authorities. 


324  SIR    HENRY    VANE. 

Hume  gives  the  credit  of  this  transaction  to  Sir  Henry. 
"  In  this  negotiation/'  says  he,  "  the  man  chiefly  trusted 
to  was  Vane,  who  in  eloquence,  address,  capacity,  as 
well  as  art  and  dissimulation,  was  not  surpassed  by  any 
one,  even  during  that  age  so  famous  for  active  talents. 
By  his  persuasion  was  framed  at  Edinburgh  the  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant."*  When  the  Covenant  was  rati- 
fied in  Parliament,  on  the  22d  September,  1643,  his 
name  was  subscribed  next  to  that  of  Cromwell  on  the 
list. 

As  the  civil  war  raged,  Sir  Henry  Vane  was  inces- 
santly engaged  in  Parliament,  and  upon  various  com- 
missions appointed  to  treat  with  the  King.  In  this  capa- 
city he  was  at  the  treaty  of  Uxbridge  in  1645,  and  at 
the  Isle  of  Wight  in  1648,  and,  it  is  said,  "was  always  an 
enemy  to  peace. "f  He  resisted  all  attempts  at  compro- 
mise, except  upon  such  a  basis  as  would  forever  protect 
the  people  against  the  tyranny  of  the  crown.  But  other 
counsels  prevailed.  On  the  5th  December,  1648,  the 
Commons  voted,  129  to  83,  that  the  terms  offered  by  the 
King  ought  to  be  accepted.  Sir  Henry  Vane  considered 
this  to  be  equivalent  to  a  restoration  of  Charles  to  the 
throne.  J 

Not  so  thought  Cromwell.  He  appeared  next  day 
with  a  troop  of  horse,  and  forcibly  seizing  forty-one  of 
the  members,  expelled  them  from  parliament ;  those  re- 
maining being  devoted  to  his  interests,  and  thenceforth 
known  as  "  The  Rump." 

This  proceeding  of  Cromwell  was  disapproved  by 
Vane,  who  for  the  present  withdrew  from  Parliament, 

*  Hume's  Hist,  of  England.       t  Biographia  Britannica. 

t  See  History  of  Independency,  Part  II,  p,  26.     Pari.  Hist.  iii.  1145.  1146. 


SIR    HENRY    VANE.  325 

and  took  no  part  in  the  impeachment,  trial  and  execu- 
tion of  King  Charles,  which  followed.* 

Charles  suffered  on  the  30th  of  January,  1649. 
On  the  17th  of  February  a  Council  of  State  was  installed, 
into  whose  hands  the  executive  government  of  the  na- 
tion was  committed.  Sir  Henry  Vane  was  appointed  a 
member  of  the  Council.  Cromwell  used  great  pains  to 
induce  him  to  accept  the  appointment,  and,  after  many 
consultations,  he  so  far  prevailed  in  satisfying  Vane  of 
the  purity  of  his  intentions  in  reference  to  the  Common- 
wealth, as  to  overcome  his  reluctance  again  to  appear 
in  public  life.  He  took  his  seat  in  the  Council  nine 
days  after  its  instalment,  and  immediately  entered,  with 
his  accustomed  energy  and  ability,  upon  the  duties  of 
the  office.  He  continued  to  be  in  the  Council  from  1649 
to  1653.  The  powers  exercised  by  that  body  were 
very  great.  They  were  intrusted  with  the  entire  com- 
mand of  the  military  forces  of  England  and  Ireland,  and 
were  authorized  to  raise  and  control  a  navy,  and  to  con- 
duct the  whole  administration  of  the  country,  in  refer- 
ence both  to  its  offensive  and  defensive  operations  in 
war.  Sir  Henry  Vane  was  for  some  time  President  of 
the  Council,  and,  as  Treasurer  and  Commissioner  for  the 
Navy,  he  had  almost  the  exclusive  direction  of  that 
branch  of  the  public  service.  The  foreign  relations  were 
wholly  under  his  management.  He  planned  and  con- 
ducted the  war  with  the  United  Provinces,  in  which 
Blake  gathered  his  laurels,  and  won  for  his  country  the 
proud  title  of  mistress  of  the  seas ;  and  he  exhibited  a 

*  "  Sir  Henry  Vane  did  not  approve  putting  the  King  to  death,  nor  of  the  force 
put  on  Parliament,  but  withdrew  while  these  things  were  acting." — Burnet's 
History  of  his  Own  Times,  i.  163. 


326  SIR    HENRY    VANE. 

patriotic  and  generous  spirit  to  his  countrymen  by  an 
unusual  example  of  disinterested  devotion  to  the  pub- 
lic cause.  In  order  to  lighten  the  burden  of  the  war, 
and  to  encourage  the  people  to  carry  it  on  with  vigor, 
he  voluntarily  relinquished  the  profits  of  the  very  lucra- 
tive office  he  held,  as  Treasurer  of  the  Navy,  and  ap- 
propriated them  to  the  common  treasury.* 

But  the  genius  of  Sir  Henry  Vane  was  not  confined 
to  the  conduct  of  foreign  wars,  brilliant  and  wonderful 
as  was  its  exercise  in  that  department.  At  this  period 
of  his  life  his  labors  were  so  various,  so  complicated  and 
so  constant,  that  they  were  regarded  as  almost  incredi- 
ble. From  an  early  hour  in  the  morning  until  late  at 
night,  he  was  every  moment  engaged  in  the  actual  trans- 
action of  busincss.f  His  acts  are  stamped  upon  the  his- 
tory of  his  country. 

On  the  20th  April,  1653,  Cromwell  suddenly  entered 
the  House  of  Parliament,  and,  backed  by  his  soldiers, 
exclaimed,  "  You  are  no  Parliament !  Begone,  and  give 
place  to  honester  men."  Thus  ended  the  famous  Long 
Parliament,  and  Cromwell  had  established  his  authority 

*  The  income  thus  relinquished  was  from  £5,000  to  £6,000  per  annum. 
1  The  following  tribute  of  praise  was  at  this  period  addressed  to  Sir  Henry 
Vane,  by  the  great  Poet  of  England  : 

"  Vane,  young  in  years,  but  in  stge  counsel  old, 
Than  whom  a  better  senator  ne'er  held 
The  helm  of  Rome,  when  gowns,  not  arms,  repelled 
The  fierce  Epirot,  and  the  African  bold, 
Whether  to  settle  peace,  or  to  unfold 

The  drift  of  hollow  states  hard  to  be  spelled  ; 
Then  to  advise  how  war  may  best  upheld 
Move  by  her  two  main  nerves,  iron  and  gold, 
In  all  her  equipage  ;  besides  to  know 
Both  spiritual  power  and  civil,  what  each  means, 
What  severs  each,  thou  hast  learnt,  which  few  have  done  ; 
The  bounds  of  either  sword  to  thee  we  owe  ; 
Therefore  on  thy  firm  hand  Religion  leans 
In  peace,  and  reckons  thee  her  eldest  son." 

John  Milton. 


SIR    HENRY    VANE,  327 

upon  the  ruins  of  the  Commonwealth.  Sir  Henry  Vane, 
shocked  at  the  conduct  of  Cromwell,  now  retired  to  his 
estate  at  Raby  Castle."  Here  he  wrote  and  published  a 
pamphlet,  entitled  the  "Healing  Question/'  in  opposi- 
tion to  Cromwell,  for  which  he  was  summoned  before 
the  Protector,  charged  with  seditious  intent,  and  required 
to  give  bond  to  keep  the  peace,  which  neglecting  to  do, 
he  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  in  Carisbrook  Castle  in 
the  Isle  of  Wight;  from  which,  Cromwell  not  choosing 
to  take  his  life,  he  was  liberated  at  the  close  of  the  year 
1656. 

Oliver  Cromwell  died  on  the  3d  September,  1658, 
and  Richard,  his  son,  succeeded  to  the  Protectorship. 
A  new  Parliament  was  summoned  in  January,  1659. 
The  partisans  of  the  new  Protector  opposed  the  return 
of  Sir  Henry  Vane;  and  though  he  was  duly  chosen  from 
his  former  borough,  they  gave  the  election  to  another. 
He  determined  to  persevere,  and  was  finally  returned 
from  Whitchurch,  in  Southamptonshire. 

Fearful  that  the  republican  party,  which  was  strong 
in  the  House,  might  gain  the  ascendancy,  the  leading 

*  "  When  Lieutenant  Colonel  Worsley  entered  the  House  of  Commons  with 
two  files  of  musqueteers,  to  drive  out  the  members,  on  20th  April,  1653,  Sir 
Henry  Vane  said  aloud,  '  This  is  not  honest ;  yea,  it  is  against  morality  and 
common  honesty.'  Upon  which  Cromwell  fell  to  railing  at  him,  crying  out 
with  a  loud  voice,  '  O  Sir  Henry  Vane,  Sir  Henry  Vane  !  The  Lord  deliver  me 
from  Sir  Henry  Vane  !"     Ludlow's  Mem.  II.  457. 

"Young  Sir  H.  Vane,  notwithstanding  the  affronts  he  received  at  the  disso- 
lution of  the  Parliament,  was  invited,  being  in  Lincolnshire,  by  a  letter  from 
the  Council,  which  invitation  he  answered  by  a  letter  extracted  out  of  that  part 
of  the  Apocalypse,  wherein  the  reign  of  the  Saints  is  mentioned,  which  he 
saith  he  believes  will  now  begin;  but  for  his  part  he  is  willing  to  deler  his  share 
in  it  until  he  comes  to  Heaven;  and  desired  to  be  excused  in  yielding  to  their 
desires.  Yet  upon  second  thoughts  he  is  come  to  London,  and  I  believe  will, 
like  Tiberius,  upon  little  entreaty,  accept  a  share  in  this  empire."  Intercepted 
Letter  T.  Robinsonto  Mr.  Stoneham  at  the  Hague,  June  3,  1653.  Thurloe's 
Slate  Papers,  i.  265. 


328  SIR    HENRY    VANE. 

officers  of  the  army,  on  the  21st  of  April,  1659,  sent  a 
request  to  Richard,  to  dissolve  the  Parliament,  intima- 
ting very  plainly  that  unless  he  complied,  they  should 
deprive  him  of  power,  and  assume  the  whole  gov- 
ernment to  themselves.  The  Protector  accordingly 
despatched  the  Keeper  of  the  Seals  to  dissolve  the  Par- 
liament. Getting  information  of  this  design,  the  House 
ordered  their  doors  to  be  closed,  and  the  gentleman  usher 
of  the  black  rod  was  not  permitted  to  enter.  It  was  on 
this  occasion,  (says  Mr.  Upham,  following  the  Biographia 
Britannica,)  that  Sir  Henry  Vane  delivered  the  follow- 
ing speech,  which  produced  an  overwhelming  effect  upon 
the  House  and  nation,  and  entirely  demolished  the  power 
of  the  Protector:* 

"  Mr.  Speaker :  Among  all  the  people  of  the  universe, 
I  know  none  who  have  shown  so  much  zeal  for  the  li- 
berty of  their  country,  as  the  English,  at  this  time,  have 
done.  They  have,  by  the  help  of  Divine  Providence, 
overcome  all  obstacles,  and  have  made  themselves  free. 
We  have  driven  away  the  hereditary  tyranny  of  the 
house  of  Stuart,  at  the  expense  of  much  blood  and  trea- 
sure, in  hopes  of  enjoying  hereditary  liberty,  after  having 
shaken  off  the  yoke  of  kingship ;  and  there  is  not  a  man 
amongst  us,  who  could  have  imagined  that  any  person 
would  be  so  bold  as  to  dare  attempt  the  ravishing  from 
us  that  freedom,  which  has  cost  us  so  much  blood  and  so 
much  labor.  But  so  it  happens,  I  know  not  by  what 
misfortune,  we  are  fallen  into  the  error  of  those,  who 
poisoned  the  Emperor  Titus  to  make  room  for  Domitian, 
who  made  away  Augustus  that  they  might  have  Tiberius, 
and  changed  Claudius  for  Nero. 

*  See  Upham's  Life  of  Vane,  in  I  Sparks,  iv. 


SIR    HENRY    VANE.  329 

u  I  am  sensible  these  examples  are  foreign  from  my 
subject,  since  the  Romans,  in  those  days,  were  buried  in 
lewdness  and  luxury;  whereas  the  people  of  England 
are  now  renowned,  all  over  the  world,  for  their  great 
virtue  and  discipline ;  and  yet  suffer  an  idiot,  without 
courage,  without  sense,  nay,  without  ambition,  to  have 
dominion  in  a  country  of  liberty. 

"One  could  bear  a  little  with  Oliver  Cromwell, 
though,  contrary  to  his  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  Parliament, 
contrary  to  his  duty  to  the  public,  contrary  to  the  res- 
pect he  owed  to  that  venerable  body  from  whom  he  re- 
ceived his  authority,  he  usurped  the  government.  His 
merit  was  so  extraordinary,  that  our  judgment  and  pas- 
sions might  be  blinded  by  it.  He  made  his  way  to  em- 
pire by  the  most  illustrious  actions.  He  held  under 
his  command  an  army  that  had  made  him  a  conqueror, 
and  a  people  that  had  made  him  their  general. 

"But  as  for  Richard  Cromwell,  his  son,  who  is  he? 
What  are  his  titles?  We  have  seen  that  he  has  a  sword 
by  his  side,  but  did  he  ever  draw  it?  And,  what  is  of 
more  importance  in  this  case,  is  he  fit  to  get  obedience 
from  a  mighty  nation,  who  could  never  make  a  footman 
obey  him?  Yet,  we  must  recognise  this  man  as  our 
king,  under  the  style  of  Protector ! — a  man  without  birth, 
without  courage,  without  conduct.  For  my  part,  I  de- 
clare, Sir,  it  shall  never  be  said  that  I  made  such  a  man 
my  master." 

"This  impetuous  torrent  swept  every  thing  before  it. 
Oratory,  genius,  and  the  spirit  of  liberty  never  achieved 
a  more  complete  triumph.  It  was  signal  and  decisive, 
instantaneous  and  irresistible.  It  broke,  at  once  and  for- 
ever, the  power  of  Richard  and  his  party,  and  the  con- 
42 


330  SIR    HENRY    VANE. 

trol  of  the  country  again  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
republicans.  Richard  immediately  abdicated  the  Pro- 
tectorate,, having  at  the  same  time  issued  a  Proclamation 
dissolving  the  Parliament;  and  the  general  voice  of  the 
country  was  so  clearly  and  strongly  uttered,  that  the  mili- 
tary factions  bowed  to  its  demand,  and  the  famous  Long 
Parliament,  which  Oliver  Cromwell  had  dispersed  in 
1653,  was  once  more  summoned  to  assemble,  by  a  de- 
claration from  the  council  of  officers,  dated  on  the  6th  of 
May,  1659."* 

Such  is  the  account  given  by  the  intelligent  biogra- 
pher of  Vane,  of  the  effect  of  a  supposed  speech  of  Sir 
Henry  Vane.  His  authority  is  a  note  in  the  Biographia 
Britannica,  copied  from  Old mixon's  History  of  the  Stuarts. 
Where  Oldmixon  found  it,  does  not  appear,  and  his  au- 
thority is  not  always  to  be  relied  upon.  Neither  White- 
locke,  who  was  in  Parliament  at  the  time,  nor  Ludlow, 
also  in  Parliament,  and  the  friend  of  Vane,  make  any 
mention  of  the  speech;  nor  does  it  appear  from  Burton's 
Diary  during  the  Protectorate,  used  by  Clarendon,  that 
any  such  speech  was  made  by  Sir  Henry  Vane,  or  any 
body  else  in  Parliament.  The  entire  speech  is  probably 
a  fiction. f 

The  Parliament  assembled  by  Richard  in  January, 
upon  the  demand  of  the  army  was  dissolved  by  Procla- 
mation on  the  22d  of  April.     On  the  6th  of  May,  the 

*  Upham's  Life  of  Sir  Henry  Vane,  in  I  Sparks,  iv. 

t  For  many  of  the  corrected  dates  given  in  this  memoir,  and  in  particular  for 
the  correction  of  some  of  the  modern  accounts  of  Sir  Henry  Vane's  agency  in 
bringing  the  Earl  of  Strafford  to  the  block,  and  in  the  proceedings  pending  the 
abdication  of  Richard  Cromwell,  the  writer  is  indebted  to  the  suggestions  of  that 
thorough  antiquary,  Petek  Force,  Esq.,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  and  the  free  use 
of  the  rich  stores  in  his  invaluable  library. 


SIR    HENRY    VANE.  331 

army  published  a  Declaration,  requesting  the  members  of 
the  Long  Parliament  to  re-assemble,  and  that  body  met  on 
the  7th,  at  Whitehall. 

The  records  of  the  time  would  seem  to  disprove  any 
feeling  of  hostility  towards  Richard.  Indeed  the  Parlia- 
ment treated  him  with  kindness,  and  in  the  debates  given 
by  Burton,  he  is  rarely  spoken  of,  even  in  the  stormiest 
scenes  in  that  body,  with  harshness.  When  the  army 
began  to  dictate,  and  the  Parliament  doubted  his  power 
or  right  to  the  protectorship,  he  seems  to  have  made  up 
his  mind  to  seek  his  own  comfort  and  security  by  abdi- 
cating. On  the  7th  of  May,  1659,  the  Commons  made 
their  declaration  against  any  government  of  a  single  per- 
son, Kingship,  or  House  of  Peers;  and  on  the  same  day, 
Fleetwood,  Haslerigge,  Vane,  Ludlow,  Salway,  Syden- 
ham and  Jones  were  made  a  Committee  of  Safety.  On 
the  14th,  a  Council  of  State  was  agreed  upon,  and  Sir 
Henry  Vane  was  one  of  the  number.  On  the  20th  of 
May,  he  was  one  of  the  committee  appointed  "to  prepare 
a  Declaration  to  the  Nation  how  affairs  stood  with  the 
Commonwealth,  when  the  House  was  interrupted  [20 
April,  1653,]  and  how  affairs  stood  at  present."  On  the 
25th,  he  was  appointed  at  the  head  of  a  committee  to  con- 
sider "  what  is  fit,  to  be  done  as  to  the  settlement  of  a 
comfortable  and  honorable  subsistence  on  Richard  Crom- 
well, eldest  son  of  the  late  Lord  General  Cromwell." 
And  on  the  same  day,  Richard's  letter  of  abdication  is 
dated. 

On  the  26th  of  May,  Sir  Henry  Vane  was  placed 
first  on  a  committee  of  seven,  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the 
Admiralty  and  Navy,  and  in  September,  he  was  Presi- 
dent of  the  Council.     On  the  13th  of  October  follow- 


332  SIR    HENRY    VANE. 

ing-,  the  army  took  possession  of  the  Hall  where  Parlia- 
ment sat,  and  prevented  their  further  meeting.  Vane  now 
took  sides  with  the  army  against  the  Parliament.  On  the 
17th,  he  was  one  of  the  committee  of  ten  appointed  by 
the  council  of  officers,  to  carry  on  the  affairs  of  Govern- 
ment; on  the  26th,  was  one  of  the  Committee  of  Safety; 
and  on  the  1st  of  November,  was  one  of  a  committee 
appointed  to  consider  a  form  of  government  for  three 
nations  as  one  commonwealth.* 

On  the  26th  December,  1659,  through  the  influence 
of  General  Monk,  the  Parliament  was  again  assembled. 
That  body  were  now  suspicious  of  Vane,  and  question-, 
ing  some  of  his  proceedings  with  the  army,  on  the  9th 
of  January  following,  ordered  him  to  retire  to  his  house 
at  Raby,  and  await  further  orders,  at  the  same  time  dis- 
missing him  from  Parliament.  Delaying  to  comply,  and 
endeavoring  to  stir  up  opposition  to  Parliament,  the 
House  in  February  ordered  him  to  be  sent  under  cus- 
tody to  Raby,  and  afterwards  to  be  conveyed  by  the 
Sergeant  at  Arms  to  his  house  at  Bellew,  in  Lincolnshire. 

After  King  Charles'  restoration,  Sir  Henry  Vane, 
having  no  apprehension  of  danger,  went  up  to  his  house 
in  London.  But  on  the  11th  June,  1660,  the  House  of 
Commons  resolved  that  he  should  be  one  of  the  twenty 
persons  excepted  out  of  the  King's  Proclamation  of  Par- 
don, and  in  July  following  he  was  committed  to  the 
Tower.  From  the  Tower  he  was  afterwards  removed 
to  other  prisons,  and  finally  to  the  Isle  of  Scilly.  In 
August,  1660,  the  Commons  petitioned  the  King,  that 

*  Whitelocke,  p.  688,  says  Sir  H.  Vane  was  commissioned  5  Nov.  1659,  to 
raise  a  regiment  of  horse.  On  the  14th  Jan.  1660,  Parliament  ordered  that  the 
regiment  of  foot,  called  Sir  Harry  Vane's,  should  be  forthwith  disbanded. 


SIR    HENRY    VANE.  333 

if  Sir  Henry  Vane  should  be  attainted,  his  life  might  be 
spared — to  which  the  King  assented ;  but  after  the  in- 
surrection of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men,*  in  January,  1661, 
the  Commons  withdrew  their  request  that  his  life 
might  be  spared,  and  he  was  remanded  to  the  Tower. f 

He  was  arraigned  before  the  Court  of  King's  Bench 
for  trial,  on  the  2d  June,  1662,  the  verdict  of  guilty  was 
rendered  on  the  6th,  sentence  pronounced  on  the  11th, 
and  on  the  14th,  he  was  executed  on  Tower  Hill. 

It  being  observed  that  the  dying  speeches  of  the  re- 
gicides made  an  impression  upon  the  multitude,  unfavor- 
able to  the  government,  measures  were  taken  to  prevent 
Sir  Henry  Vane  from  addressing  the  people.  "His  tri- 
al," says  Bancroft,  "  he  had  converted  into  a  triumph." 
And  when  he  offered  to  address  the  people  from  the 
scaffold,  the  King's  officers  interrupted  him,  trumpets 
were  blown  in  his  face,  and  personal  violence  was  resort- 
ed to  in  snatching  away  his  papers.  "  Blessed  be  God," 
he  exclaimed,  as  he  bared  his  neck  for  the  axe,  "  I  have 
kept  a  conscience  void  of  offence  to  this  day,  and  have 
not  deserted  the  righteous  cause  for  which  I  suffer." 
His  heroic  bearing  upon  his  execution,  was  the  admira- 

*  The  principal  idea  of  this  fanatical  sect,  was,  that  our  Saviour  was  coming 
down,  to  erect  a  Fifth  Monarchy  upon  earth,  which  was  to  last  for  a  thousand 
years.  Sir  Henry  Vane's  pamphlet,  called  "The  Retired  Man's  Meditations," 
&c,  published  in  1655,  contained  an  exposition  of  some  of  the  mystical  doc- 
trines of  these  enthusiasts. 

t  The  government  had  now  resolved  to  crush  the  republican  party,  of  which 
Vane  was  a  leader.  "Certainly,"  wrote  the  King,  "  Sir  Henry  Vane  is  too 
dangerous  a  man  to  let  live,  if  we  can  honestly  put  him  out  of  the  way."  Lud- 
low says,  "the  cause  of  his  destruction  was  because  his  adversaries  knew  his 
integrity,  and  feared  his  abilities."  But  Burnet  says,  "  the  great  share  he  had 
in  the  attainder  of  the  Earl  of  Strafford,  and  in  the  whole  turn  of  affairs  to  the 
total  change  of  the  government;  but  above  all  the  great  opinion  that  was  had  of 
his  parts  and  capacity  to  embroil  matters  again,  made  the  Court  think  it  was 
necessary  to  put  him  out  of  the  way." 


334  SIR    HENRY    VANE. 

tion  of  the  times ;  and  produced  so  great  a  sensation 
throughout  the  kingdom,  that  the  King  found  it  expedi- 
ent to  allay  the  public  sympathy,  by  restoring  to  the  fam- 
ily of  Sir  Henry  Vane  all  his  estates  and  honors. 

Sir  Henry  Vane,  in  July,  1639,  married  Frances, 
daughter  of  Sir  Christopher  Wray,  of  Glenkworth,  in  Lin- 
colnshire, and  had  a  family  of  eleven  children.  Christo- 
pher, the  eldest,  was  knighted  by  Charles  II.,  was  of  the 
Privy  Council  to  James  II.,  and  in  July,  1698,  was 
created  Baron  Bernard  of  Bernard  Castle,  in  the  Bish- 
oprick  of  Durham.  He  married  Elizabeth,  eldest  daugh- 
ter of  Gilbert  Holies,  Earl  of  Clare,  and  sister  and  co- 
heiress of  John,  Duke  of  New-Castle,  and  died  at  his 
seat  in  Fairlawn,  Kent,  in  1723. 

Gilbert  Vane,  the  second  Lord  Bernard,  died  in  1753; 
and  his  son,  Henry  Vane,  in  the  following  year  was  cre- 
ated Viscount  Bernard  and  Earl  of  Darlington.  He 
married  a  daughter  of  Charles,  Duke  of  Cleveland,  and 
died  in  175S. 

The  present  lineal  descendant  is  William  Harry  Vane, 
who  in  1833,  was  created  Marquis  of  Cleveland,  with 
the  names  and  titles  of  Baron  Raby  of  Raby  Castle,  and 
Duke  of  Cleveland. 


335 


V.     RICHARD   BELLINGHAM. 

Richard  Bellingham,  the  fifth  Governor  under 
the  first  Massachusetts  charter,  was  a  native  of  England, 
born  in  1592.  The  editor  of  Winthrop  says,  "he  was 
of  a  good  family  in  England,  and  perhaps  Richard  Bel- 
lingham,  who  was  recorder  of  Boston,  in  1625,  was  his 
father."  He  was  educated  to  the  profession  of  the  law, 
which  he  abandoned,  and  came  to  this  country  in  1634.* 
On  the  3d  of  August  in  that  year,  he  joined  the  church 
at  Boston,  with  his  wife  Elizabeth,  whose  death  is  men- 
tioned as  having  occurred  not  long  after. 

Mr.  Bellingham  was  one  of  the  twenty-six  original 
patentees  named  in  the  charter  of  King  Charles  I.  in 
1628;  and  being  well  qualified  to  take  an  active  part  in 
the  affairs  of  the  infant  colony,  the  opportunity  was  not 
long  wanting.  He  was  chosen  a  deputy  in  March,  1635. 
He  was  an  assistant  from  1636  to  1639,  and  from  1643 
to  1652;  and  was  also  treasurer  of  the  colony  from  1637 
to  1639.     In  May,  1635,  the  general  court  placed  him 

*  Johnson,  in  the  "  Wonder- Working  Providence,"  thus  notices  the  arrival 
of  Mr    Bellingham  :     "  At  this  time  came  over  the  much  honored  Mr.   Richard 
Bellingham,,  whose  Estate  and  person  did  much  for  the  civill  Government  of  this 
wandering  people,  hee  being  learned  in  the  Lawes  of  England,  and  experiment- 
ally fitted  for  the  worke,  of  whom  I  am  bold  to  say  as  followeth  : 
Richardus  now,  arise  must  thou,  Christ  seed  hath  thee  to  plead, 
His  people's  cause,  with  equall  Lawes,  in  wildernesse  them  lead; 
Though  slow  of  speech,  thy  counsell  reach,  shall  each  occasion  well, 
Sure  thy  stern  look,  it  cannot  brook,  those  wickedly  rebel]. 
With  labour  might  thy  pen  indite  doth  Lawes  for  people's  learning: 
That  judge  with  skill,  and  not  with  will,  unarbitrate  discerning  ; 
Belli  ngham,  thou,  on  valiant  now,  stop  not  in  discontent, 
For  Christ  with  crown,  will  thee  renown,  then  spend  for  him,  be  spent ; 
As  thou  hast  done,  thy  race  still  run  till  death,  no  death  shall  stay 
Christ's  work  of  might,  till  Scripture  light  bring  Resurrection  day." 


336  RICHARD    BELLINGHAM. 

upon  the  commission  for  military  affairs,  which  Winthrop 
says  "had  power  of  life  and.  limb" — and  which  was  in- 
deed the  most  important  power  exercised  in  the  colony.* 
His  associates  in  the  commission  were  the  governor,  de- 
puty governor,  Winthrop,  Endecott  and  others,  and  they 
were -empowered  to  make  war  offensive  and  defensive, 
and  to  imprison  such  as  they  might  deem  to  be  enemies 
of  the  commonwealth,  and  in  case  of  refusal  to  come  un- 
der restraint,  to  put  offenders  to  death. 

At  the  succeeding  general  court,  held  at  Newtown, 
[Cambridge,]  6th  May,  Mr.  Bellingham  was  chosen  dep- 
uty governor.  From  this  period  he  was  annually  cho- 
sen a  magistrate  until  1641.  Hutchinson  represents 
him  to  have  been,  at  this  period,  like  Winthrop,  Dud- 
ley, and  Bradstreet,  a  man  of  property  and  estate  above 
most  of  the  planters  of  the  colony. 

In  the  framing  of  the  colonial  laws,  which  occupied 
the  attention  of  the  General  Court  from  time  to  time, 
Mr.  Bellingham,  being  a  lawyer,  and  a  man  distinguished 
alike  for  good  judgment  and  integrity,  had  a  greater 
share  than  any  other  person  of  his  time,  excepting  per- 
haps Governor  Winthrop. 

In  1640,  Mr.  Bellingham  was  re-elected  deputy 
governor;  and  at  the  election  in  1641,  he  was  chosen 
governor,  in  opposition  to  Winthrop,  by  a  majority  of 
six  votes.  There  were  rival  and  party  interests,  even 
at  that  early  day,  amongst  those  who  had  fled  from  a 
common  persecution.  Winthrop  seems  to  have  been 
the  favorite  candidate  of  the  General  Court,  and  Bel- 
lingham, for  the  time,  to  have  been  the  candidate  of  the 

*  See  pp.  286,  298,  cf  this  volume. 


RICHARD    BELLINGHAM.  337 

people ;  and  no  sooner  was  the  result  known,  than  the 
Court  manifested  their  discontent,  by  repealing  the  or- 
der formerly  made  for  an  annual  allowance  of  £100  to 
the  governor.  There  was  no  general  dislike  of  the  ex- 
cellent Winthrop,  but  the  people  held  to  the  democratic 
doctrine  of  rotation  in  office,  even  to  the  neglect  of  so 
good  a  man  as  Winthrop,  "  lest  there  should  be  a  gover- 
nor for  life."  Mr.  Winthrop  seems  to  have  felt  some 
little  mortification  at  this  result,  and  complained  that 
"  there  were  divers  who  had  not  given  in  their  votes," 
and  were  denied  by  the  magistrates,  "  because  they  had 
not  given  them  in  at  the  doors."*  At  the  following 
election,  however,  the  Court  party  rallied,  and  Winthrop 
was  again  elected. 

During  the  few  years  preceding,  the  harmony  of  the 
people  was  greatly  disturbed  by  the  Antinomian  contro- 
versy, in  which  the  celebrated  Anne  Hutchinson  bore  so 
conspicuous  a  part.  There-  were  factions  in  the  church, 
and  factions  in  state,  which  for  a  long  time  divided  the 
people  on  almost  every  question.  There  were  other 
circumstances,  however,  which  contributed  to  render 
the  first  administration  of  Bellingham  unpleasant,  and 
finally  unpopular.  Toward  the  close  of  the  year,  the 
General  Court  being  in  session,  there  were  "  uncomfort- 

*  "There  had  been  much  laboring  to  have  Mr.  Bellingham  chosen,  and  when 
the  votes  were  numbered,  he  had  six  more  than  the  others;  but  there  were 
divers  who  had  not  given  in  their  votes,  who  now  came  into  the  court,  and  de- 
sired their  liberty,  which  was  denied  by  some  of  the  magistrates,  because  they 
had  not  given  them  in  at  the  doors.  But  others  thought  it  was  an  injury,  yet 
were  silent,  because  it  concerned  themselves,  for  the  order  of  giving  in  their 
votes  at  the  door  was  no  order  of  Court,  but  only  direction  of  some  of  the  ma- 
gistrates; and  without  question,  if  any  freeman  tender  his  vote  before  the  elec- 
tion be  passed  and  published,  it  ought  to  be  receivad." — Savage's  Winthrop, 
ii.  35. 

43 


338  RICHARD    BELLINGHAM. 

able  agitations  and  contentions  between  the  governor  and 
Court."  Winthrop  says  that  they  arose  from  the  jealousy 
of  the  governor,  at  "  seeing  some  others  of  the  magis- 
trates bear  more  sway  with  the  people  than  himself,  and 
that  they  were  called  to  be  of  the  standing  council  for 
life,  and  himself  passed  by."  And  he  goes  on  to  pro- 
nounce the  conduct  of  Governor  Bellingham  in  this  in- 
stance to  be  the  "  occasion  of  grief  to  many  godly  minds, 
and  matter  of  reproach  to  the  whole  Court  in  the  mouths 
of  others." 

The  prejudices  of  Governor  Bellingham's  opponents, 
in  this  case,  seem  to  have  outstripped  their  judgment,  as 
his  alledged  offences  bear  no  proportion  to  the  formal  rep- 
rimand which  was  imposed.  One  was,  that  the  gover- 
nor had  taken  the  part  of  a  poor  miller,  of  the  name  of 
Howe,  of  Watertown,  in  a  dispute  about  the  title  of  a 
mill,  against  the  rich  and  austere  Dudley;  and  another 
was,  that  he  had  interfered  improperly  in  the  matter  of 
a  fine  imposed  upon  a  citizen  for  an  infraction  of  the 
law.  The  governor  was  inflexible  in  his  opinions,  and 
probably  did  not  spare  his  opponents  in  the  heat  of  the 
controversy.  The  deputies,  after  consulting  together, 
gave  him,  says  Winthrop,  "  a  solemn  admonition,  which 
was  never  done  to  any  governor  before." 

There  was  another  proceeding,  however,  on  the  part 
of  the  governor,  which  greatly  offended  the  puritan 
delicacy  of  the  elders  and  magistrates.  Winthrop,  who 
relates  many  other  things  less  proper  to  be  told,  gravely 
expresses  a  doubt  whether  the  facts  in  this  case  were 
"fit  to  be  published."  There  resided  at  this  period  in 
the  family  of  Governor  Bellingham,  a  young  man,  who 
had  been  paying  his  addresses  to  a  gentlewoman  of  the 


RICHARD    BELLINGHAM.  339 

neighborhood,  of  the  name  of  Penelope  Pelham,  a  sister 
of  Herbert  Pelham;*  and  matters  had  proceeded  so  far, 
Winthrop  says,  that  she  "was  ready  to  be  contracted  to 
him"  in  marriage.  The  governor,  who  was  a  widower, 
suddenly  made  overtures  to  the  damsel,  who,  being  daz- 
zled by  the  prospects  of  a  better  establishment  thus  sud- 
denly placed  before  her,  accepted  his  suit,,  jilted  her  for- 
mer admirer,  and  married  his  excellency.  This  little 
episode  in  the  affairs  of  the  colony,  excited  universal 
attention  and  animadversion.  The  governor,  it  seems, 
not  only  disappointed  the  hopes  of  the  unsuccessful 
suitor,  but  he  committed  a  gross  breach  of  order,  in  re- 
fusing to  have  his  contract  of  marriage  published  where 
he  dwelt,  according  to  law,  and  also  by  performing  the 
marriage  ceremony  himself.  This  he  claimed  the  right 
to  do,  in  his  capacity  of  magistrate,  but  it  was  contrary 
to  the  practice  of  the  colony.  These  offences  were 
deemed  so  inexcusable,  that  he  was  presented  by  the 
grand  inquest  for  a  breach  of  the  law ;  and  the  General 
Court,  not  being  in  a  very  friendly  mood,  took  up  the 
matter,  and  through  their  secretary  formally  summoned 
the  governor  to  answer  to  the  prosecution.  But  the 
governor,  refusing  to  descend  from  his  high  place  as 
judge  on  the  bench,  to  take  the  bar  as  an  offender,  and 
the  magistrates  not  wishing  to  proceed  to  extremities, 
the  matter  was  finally  suffered  to  rest,  without  any  fur- 
ther proceedings.  But  the  popular  opinion  was  for  the 
time  decidedly  against  the  governor,  and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, in  1642,  he  was  dropped  from  office,  and  Win- 
throp chosen  in  his  stead. 

*  Herbert  Pelham  was  an  assistant  from  1646  to  1649-.  He  was  of  the  same 
family  with  Thomas,  Lord  Pelham,  who  on  the  death  of  John  Holies,  Duke  of 
New-Castle,  15th  July,  1711,  succeeded  that  nobleman  in  his  estate  and  titles. 


340  RICHARD    BELLINGHAM. 

After  this,  we  hear  little  of  Governor  Bellingham  for 
several  years,  except  in  occasional  conflicts  with  his 
brethren  of  the  magistracy,  whose  course  he  did  not  ap- 
prove. With  Mr.  Saltonstall,  of  Salem,  one  of  the  most 
worthy  of  the  fathers  of  New  England,  we  find  Gover- 
nor Bellingham  frequently  joined  in  opposition  to  the  rest 
of  the  council,  and  taking  part  with  the  deputies  against 
the  powers  claimed  by  the  magistrates.* 

In  1644,  another  controversy  arose  out  of  a  trifling 
affair,  which  set  the  little  colony  by  the  ears,  and  so  di- 
vided the  magistrates  and  deputies,  that  the  elders  were 
obliged  to  interfere,  and  the  difficulty  was  only  ended  by 
both  parties  finally  getting  weary  of  the  dispute,  and  glad 
to  compromise.  A  poor  woman  had  lost  a  swine,  which 
strayed  away,  and  after  some  time  she  found  it,  as  she 
alledged,  in  the  possession  of  a  rich  neighbor.  She 
claimed  the  swine,  but  the  neighbor  denying  that  it  was 
her's,  refused  to  deliver  it  up.  She  appealed  to  the  mag- 
istrates. Bellingham,  with  his  usual  readiness  to  protect 
the  interests  of  the  weaker  party  against  the  more  pow- 
erful, took  up  the  cause  of  the  poor  woman ;  while  Dud- 
ley, on  the  other  hand,  as  in  the  case  of  the  miller,  es- 
poused the  cause  of  the  partrician.  The  contest  waxed 
warm,  and  there  being  no  hope  of  ending  it,  Dudley  and 
Bellingham,  at  last,  "  in  order  that  the  public  peace  might 
be  restored,"  arranged  a  compromise  between  the  par- 
ties. 

In  a  popular  excitement  which  occurred  two  years 
afterward,  when  some  "  persons  of  figure,"  who  had  set- 
tled at  Scituate,  undertook  to  complain  of  the  illiberal- 
ity  of  the  government  of  the  colony,  we  find  Mr.  Belling- 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  ii.  186,  209. 


RICHARD    BELLINGHAM.  341 

ham  opposed  to  rigorous  measures,  and  in  favor  of  that 
Christian  toleration,  which  has  since  become  a  distin- 
guishing feature  in  our  institutions.* 

In  1653,  Mr.  Bellingham  was  again  chosen  deputy 
governor;  and  in  the  following  year,  governor.  In  1655, 
he  was  again  elected  deputy  governor,  and  was  annually 
re-elected  until  1665.  He  was  -then  chosen  governor,  in 
which  office  he  continued  under  annual  elections  until 
his  death,  in  1672. 

During  this  long  period,  he  was  actively  engaged  in 
the  affairs  of  the  colony,  and  carefully  watched  over  its 
interests  in  the  trying  periods  of  the  revolution,  the  pro- 
tectorate, and  the  restoration.  During  the  latter  years 
of  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  and  during  the  stern  despo- 
tism of  Cromwell,  when  the  colonists  were  increasing  in 
numbers  and  wealth,  and  were  apprehensive  of  some 
invasion  of  their  chartered  privileges,  Bellingham  was 
an  admirable  pilot  to  carry  them  through  the  storm.  Af- 
ter the  restoration,  and  at  a  time  when  fears  were  enter- 
tained of  the  disposition  of  Charles  II.  respecting  the 
charter,  Mr.  Bellingham  was  appointed,  with  Leverett 
and  others,  "  to  receive  the  charter  and  duplicate  there- 
of in  open  court,"  for  safe  keeping.  The  same  deter- 
mination probably  existed  at  this  time  to  preserve  their 
Charter,  at  whatever  hazard,  that  actuated  the  people  of 
Connecticut,  when  Andros,  twenty-two  years  afterwards, 
demanded  the  surrender  of  theirs. 

In  obedience  to  a  royal  summons,  agents  had  repaired 
to  London  to  answer  allegations  against  the  colony,  with 
whose  explanations  the  King  declared  himself  to  be  sat- 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  ii.  292.     See  notices  of  the  controversy  with  the  men 
of  Scituate,  pp.  124—127,  261—263,  of  this  volume. 


342  RICHARD    BELLINGHAM. 

isfied,  and  promised  to  confirm  their  charter,  at  the 
same  time  enjoining  upon  them  the  toleration  of  Epis- 
copalians and  Quakers.  A  short  time  afterwards,  how- 
ever, the  colony  was  alarmed  by  the  appearance  of  four 
royal  commissioners,  who  had  been  appointed  for  the 
purpose  of  exercising  a  supervisory  power  over  all  the 
colonial  governments.  The  spirit  of  the  colony  was 
roused.  They  considered  the  commission  to  be,  as  in 
truth  it  was,  in  derogation  of  the  powers  granted  by 
their  charter.  The  colonial  government  had  now  a 
difficult  task  to  perform.  On  the  one  hand,  they  were 
determined  to  resist  at  the  threshhold  any  invasion  of 
their  chartered  privileges,  and  on  the  other  hand,  loyalty 
to  the  sovereign  required  that  they  should  be  discreet 
in  their  proceedings.  An  extra  session  of  the  General 
Court  was  summoned,  and  the  bold  and  decided  stand 
at  once  taken,  not  to  recognize  the  authority  of  the  com- 
missioners. An  address  was  at  the  same  time  forwarded 
to  the  King,  explaining  and  defending  the  course  adopted. 
The  proceedings  of  the  commissioners  were  in  general 
arbitrary  and  impolitic,  and  adapted  rather  to  distract 
than  to  tranquilize  the  people.  On  their  return  to  Eng- 
land, they  did  not  fail  to  represent  the  conduct  of  Massa- 
chusetts in  the  most  unfavorable  light.  The  King  was 
vexed  at  this  instance  of  disregard  for  prerogative,  and  is- 
sued peremptory  orders  to  Governor  Bellingham  and  four 
others,  who  were  named,  to  appear  before  him,  and  "an- 
swer for  refusing  the  authority  of  his  commissioners."  In- 
stead of  complying  with  this  injunction,  they  addressed  a 
letter  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  in  which  they  affected  to 
doubt  the  authenticity  of  the  royal  mandate.  They  pro- 
fess the  utmost  loyalty,  and  say  that  their  case  had  been 


RICHARD    BELLINGHAM.  343 

already  so  well  unfolded,  that  the  wisest  among  them 
could  not  make  it  any  clearer.  With  this  manifestation 
of  loyalty,  and  the  timely  present  of  a  ship-load  of  masts 
for  the  royal  navy,  at  that  time  much  wanted,  and  which 
was  sent  forward  to  the  King,  he  was  appeased — and 
the  cloud,  which  had  for  some  time  been  gathering  over 
the  colony,  was  dispersed. 

Contemporary  with  the  alarm  occasioned  by  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Royal  Commissioners,  was  the  religious 
excitement  occasioned  by  the  anabaptists.  A  law  had 
been  passed  against  them  in  1644,  with  the  penalty  of 
banishment  for  adherence  to  their  opinions,  and  con- 
tempt of  civil  authority.  It  does  not  appear,  however,  that 
any  prosecutions  were  commenced  until  about  1665,  when 
the  sect  had  considerably  increased.  The  dawn  of  a  better 
spirit  was  seen  in  1668,  when,  before  proceeding  to  ban- 
ish those  who  were  deemed  heretics,  an  opportunity  was 
given  for  them  to  maintain  their  opinions  before  the  pub- 
lic. In  March,  of  that  year,  the  anabaptists  were  sum 
moned  to  a  public  dispute  upon  their  peculiar  sentiments, 
"  that  it  might  be  determined  whether  they  were  erro- 
neous or  not."*  Six  of  the  ablest  divines  in  the  colony 
were  appointed  to  manage  the  debate,  and,  as  if  fearful 
that  these  learned  clergymen  might  not  be  a  match  for 
a  few  illiterate  baptists,  the  governor  and  magistrates  were 
requested  to  meet  with  them.  The  debate  began  on  the 
14th  of  April,  and  continued  two  days,  in  the  first 
church  at  Boston.     Governor  Bellingham  took  part  m 

*A  record  of  this  remarkable  conference,  whereof  the  first  day  occupies 
some  forty  pages,  and  the  second  twenty-six  pages  of  manuscript,  is  yet  in 
existence;  and  doubtless  deserves  more  notice  than  our  theological  antiquaries 
have  yet  bestowed  upon  it.  See  II  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  (Danforth  Papers,)  viii. 
131. 


844  RICHARD    BELLINGHAM. 

this  conference,  the  result  or  proceedings  of  which  have 
neyer  been  made  public.  The  storm  which  had  threaten- 
ed the  peace  of  the  colony,  however,  from  this  quarter, 
soon  passed  over. 

Although,  as  before  intimated,  Governor  Bellingham 
was  less  rigid  than  his  associates  Winthrop  and  Dudley, 
in  his  religious  opinions,  he  was  devotedly  attached  to 
the  puritan  faith,  and  warmly  opposed  any  movement, 
which  he  feared  might  weaken  or  prejudice  the  church. 
He  was  opposed  to  the  establishment  of  a  new  church 
in  Boston,  in  1669,  "  as  detrimental  to  the  public  peace," 
and  summoned  the  council  to  consider  the  subject,  but 
they  declined  to  interfere.  In  the  whole  controversy 
growing  out  of  the  settlement  of  Davenport,  he  was  the 
advocate  of  the  first  or  original  church. 

The  witchcraft  delusion  was  at  this  time  existing  in 
New  England,  and  a  sister  of  Governor  Bellingham,  the 
widow  of  William  Hibbins,  was  executed  in  June,  1656, 
as  a  witch,  being  the  second  victim  in  this  country  to  that 
absurd  fanaticism.*  Hutchinson  intimates  that  some  pe- 
cuniary losses  of  her  husband,  in  the  latter  part  of  his 
life,  had  so  soured  her  temper,  that  she  became  quarrel- 
some, and  falling  under  church  censures,  was  so  odi- 
ous to  the  people,  that  they  accused  her  of  witch- 
craft. It  was  of  her  that  the  famous  Norton  made  the 
remark,  that  "  one  of  the  magistrates'  wives  was  hanged 
for  a  witch,  only  for  having  more  wit  than  her  neigh- 
bors."! 

*  William  Hibbins  was  admitted  a  freeman,  May  13,  1640;  was  a  deputy 
from  Boston  in  1640  and  1641,  and  an  assistant  from  164*3,  to  his  death,  July  23, 
1654.  He  was  a  man  of  some  note,  and  had  been  agent  of  the  colony  in  Eng- 
land. 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  321.     Hutch.  Colony  Mass.  Bay,  187. 


RICHARD    BELLINCHAM.  345 

The  prior  case  of  witchcraft  here  referred  to,  was 
that  of  Margaret  Jones,  who  was  condemned  as  a  witch, 
and  executed  at  Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  in  1648. 
From  this  period,  although  the  belief  in  witchcraft  was 
general,  we  hear  of  no  more  executions,  until  after  the 
great  Sir  Matthew  Hale  had  pronounced  judgment  against 
the  Suffolk  witches  in  England,  when  there  was  found  to 
be  so  great  a  resemblance  between  the  Old  England  de- 
mons and  the  New,  that  the  most  sanguinary  proceedings 
were  enacted  in  Massachusetts,  until  the  very  excess  of  the 
delusion,  in  1692,  put  an  end  to  the  melancholy  trage- 
dy.* 

Governor  Bellingham  died  on  the  7th  December, 
1672,  at  the  age  of  80.  He  lived  to  be  the  only  surviv- 
ing patentee  named  in  the  charter.  As  a  man,  he  was 
benevolent  and  upright;  as  a  Christian,  devout  and  con- 
scientious; and  as  a  magistrate,  attached  to  the  interests 
of  the  people,  and  resolute  in  defending  them.  Hub- 
bard speaks  of  him,  as  "a  very  ancient  gentleman, 
having  spun  a  long  thread  of  above  eighty  years,  a  nota- 
ble hater  of  bribes,  and  firm  and  fixed  in  any  resolution 
he  entertained."  Mather,  following  Hubbard,  says,  that 
"anions:  all  his  virtues  he  was  noted  for  none  more  than 
for  his  notable  and  perpetual  hatred  of  bribes,"  and  for 
this  he  would  honor  him  with  a  Theban  statue.  Nor 
does  the  testimony  stop  here ;  for,  in  the  Granary  burial- 
ground,  in  Boston,  over  his  tomb  is  inscribed : 

"  Virtue's  fast  friend  within  this  tomb  doth  lie, 
A  foe  to  bribes,  but  rich  in  charity." 

*  An  account  of  the  Witchcraft  Delusion  in  Massachusetts,  will  be  given  in 
the  Memoirs  of  Lt.  Gov.  Stoughton  and  Sir  William  Phips,  in  a  subsequent 
volume  of  this  work. 

44 


346  RICHARD    BELLINGHAM. 

By  his  will,  executed  on  the  28th  November,  a  few 
days  before  his  death,  he  left  his  large  property  at  Rum- 
ney  Marsh,  for  charitable  and  pious  purposes ;  but  the 
instrument  was  drawn  in  such  a  manner,  that  the  Gen- 
eral Court  set  it  aside,  and  made  a  different  disposition 
of  the  estate.  Mrs.  Penelope  Bellingham,  widow  of 
Governor  B.,  died  at  Boston,  May  28,  1702. 

Governor  Bellingham  had  several  children,  of  whom 
it  appears  by  his  will,  made  in  1672,  that  only  one  sur- 
vived him.  Samuel  Bellingham  was  born  in  England, 
and  probably  accompanied  his  father  to  New  England,  in 
1634.  Having  completed  his  academical  studies  and 
taken  his  first  degree  at  Harvard  College,  in  1642,  he  com- 
menced the  study  of  medicine,  and  repaired  to  Europe, 
to  enjoy  those  advantages  in  completing  his  professional 
studies,  which  New  England  did  not  at  that  time  afford. 
He  travelled  on  the  continent,  was  sometime  at  Leyden, 
and  obtained  from  that  university  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Medicine.  It  is  believed  that  he  visited  New  England 
afterwards ;  but  he  finally  settled  in  London,  in  the  parish 
of  St.  Anne,  in  Westminster,  where  about  1695,  he  mar- 
ried Widow  Elizabeth  Savage,  who  had  been  a  resident 
of  Boston.  He  lived  to  an  advanced  age,  but  the  time 
of  his  death  is  unknown. 


347 


VI.     JOHN   ENDECOTT. 

John  Endecott  was  a  native  of  Dorchester.,  in 
Dorsetshire,  England,  where  he  was  born  in  1588.  He 
followed  the  profession  of  a  chirurgeon  in  his  native 
county,  after  coming  of  age ;  and  becoming  attached  to 
the  puritan  interest  early  in  life,  he  emigrated  to  this 
country,  in  September,  1628.  He  was  one  of  the  founders 
of  Salem,  the  ancient  Naumkeag,  the  oldest  town  in  the 
colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  His  was  the  first  successful 
attempt  to  establish  a  colony  on  the  Bay :  and  although 
he  was  afterwards  overshadowed  by  the  lofty  character  of 
Winthrop,  Endecott  may  be  considered  the  real  foun- 
der of  Massachusetts.  Johnson  says,  that  Endecott, 
who  came  with  the  colonists  "to  govern,"  was  "a  fit  in- 
strument to  begin  this  wilderness  work ;  of  courage  bold, 
undaunted,  yet  sociable,  and  of  a  cheerful  spirit,  loving 
or  austere,  as  occasion  served."  He  is  characterised  by 
Hutchinson,  as  one  of  the  most  zealous  undertakers,  and 
the  most  rigid  in  principle  amongst  the  colonists. 

Of  the  initiatory  proceedings  in  the  settlement  of  the 
second  and  principal  New  England  colony,  an  account 
has  been  given  in  the  preceding  pages.*  Mr.  Endecott 
was  one  of  the  six  original  purchasers  of  Massachusetts, 
named  in  the  patent  granted  by  the  Council  of  Plymouth, 
19  March,  1628,  and  one  of  the  three  who  determined 
to  retain  their  interest  in  the  company,  when  its  original 
design  of  a  commercial  enterprise  was  abandone.d,  and 
the  plan  adopted  of  making  the  new  colony  an  asylum 

*  See  pp.  235 — 241,  of  this  volume. 


348  JOHN    ENDECOTT. 

for  the  persecuted  puritans  of  England.  Two  months 
after  the  patent  was  obtained,  preparations  had  been 
made  for  the  embarkation  of  settlers,  at  the  head  of 
whom  was  Endecott,  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  family, 
"hostages  of  his  fixed  attachment  to  the  New  World."* 
On  the  28th  of  June,  the  company  of  emigrants  sailed 
in  the  ship  Abigail,  from  Weymouth  in  England,  and 
they  arrived  at  Salem  on  the  8th  of  September,  where 
Endecott,  "  uniting  his  own  men  with  those  which  were 
formerly  planted  in  the  Country  into  one  body,  they 
made  up  in  all  not  much  above  fiftie  or  sixtie  persons."! 
Mr.  Endecott,  on  his  departure,  was  provided  with 
instructions,  to  which  the  historians  of  New  England 
turn  with  pride.  "If  any  of  the  Salvages,"  said  they, 
"pretend  right  of  inheritance  to  all  or  any  part  of  the 
lands  granted  in  the  patent,  we  pray  you  endeavour  to 
purchase  their  tytle,  that  we  may  avoid  the  least  suspi- 
cion of  intrusion."J  The  government  under  the  patent 
was  organized,  and  at  first  designed  to  be  continued  in  En- 
gland, Matthew  Cradock§  having  been  chosen  governor 

*  Bancroft,  i.  341. 

t  The  Planter's  Plea,  Lond.  1630,  p.  76.  Speaking  of  Endecott's  arrival, 
the  same  work  continues:  "  his  prosperous  Iourney  and  safe  arrivall  of  himselfe 
and  all  his  company,  and  good  report  he  sent  backe  of  the  country,  gave  such  en- 
couragement to  the  worke,  that  more  adventurers  joining  with  the  first  Vnder- 
takers,  and  all  engaging  themselves  more  deeply  for  the  prosecution  of  the 
designe,  they  sent  over  the  next  year  about  three  hundred  persons  more." 

i  Hazard,  i.  263. 

§  Matthew  Cradock,  who  was  governor  of  the  corporation  in  England,  until 
its  transfer  to  Massachusetts  in  1629,  was  an  eminent  merchant  of  London, 
more  forward  in  advancing  out  of  his  substance  than  any  other  of  the  adventur- 
ers. He  never  came  to  this  country,  though  he  continued  for  some  years  to 
carry  on  a  trade  by  servants  in  the  colony.  He  had  a  small  fishing  establish- 
ment at  Mystick,  opposite  Winthrop's  Ten  Hills  Farm.  Savage  refers  his  death 
to  1644,  and  a  descendant,  George  Cradock,  is  mentioned  by  Douglas  and 
Hutchinson  as  holding  public  trusts  in  the  colony. 


JOHN    ENDECOTT.  349 

of  the  Company. — The  design  was  to  constitute  a  corpo- 
ration resembling  the  East  India  Company,  with  power 
to  settle  plantations  within  the  limits  of  the  territory;,  un- 
der such  laws  and  government  as  they  should  see  fit  to 
impose,  with  magistrates  of  their  own  appointment. 
To  the  colonists  the  only  privilege  allowed,  was  that  of 
choosing  two  of  the  thirteen  counsellors,  who,  with  the 
governor,  were  to  rule  the  plantation.  Under  these  re- 
strictions, Mr.  Endecott  entered  on  his  brief  career  as 
ruler  of  the  new  plantation. 

To  protect  themselves  against  the  Indians,  a  military 
company  was  organized  by  the  settlers,  and  Mr.  Ende- 
cott was  placed  in  command.  Soon  afterwards,  the  dis- 
solute proceedings  of  the  settlers  at  Merry  Mount  having 
caused  much  scandal  to  the  colony,  Captain  Endecott 
went  to  Mount  Wollaston,  and  publicly  reproved  them, 
changed  the  name  of  their  settlement  to  Mount  Dagon, 
cut  down  their  May-pole,  and  admonished  them  with 
threats  to  change  their  course  of  conduct.  This  per- 
haps was  a  reprehensible  proceeding,  but  the  orgies  of 
these  people  had  become  so  scandalous,  that  Captain 
Standish  of  New  Plymouth  had  been  ordered  to  break 
up  their  establishment  altogether.* 

The  patent  from  the  Council  of  Plymouth  gave  a 
good  title  to  the  soil,  but  no  powers  of  government  to  the 
colony ;  in  consequence,  when  the  design  of  the  planta- 
tion was  changed,  a  charter  was  obtained  from  Charles  I., 
bearing  date  the  4th  March,  1629.  The  original  patent, 
under  which  Mr.  Endecott  came  to  New  England,  hav- 
ing been  surrendered  and  the  government  transferred  to 
the  grantees  under  the  charter,  his  duties  as  governor  of 

*  Prince,  175-177. 


350  JOHN    ENDECOTT. 

the  plantation,  of  course,  ceased,  upon  Winthrop's  arrival 
with  the  charter,  and  a  commission  as  governor  of  the 
colony,  in  1630. 

Captain  Endecott  was  chosen  an  Assistant  in  1630, 
and  continued  in  office  until  1634  ;  was  again  elected  in 
1637,  and  remained  in  the  same  office  until  chosen  to 
that  of  deputy  governor  in  1641.  He  succeeded  Gov- 
ernor Dudley  in  1645,  as  Sergeant  Major  General,  then 
the  highest  military  office  in  the  colony,  and  continued 
to  discharge  its  duties  until  1649. 

The  early  portion  of  Mr.  Endecott's  career,  as  a 
magistrate  and  christian,  is  disfigured  by  acts  of  intoler- 
ance and  rashness.  In  forming  the  first  church  of  the 
puritans  at  Salem,  two  articles  were  agreed  upon — first, 
that  the  Salem  church  should  be  independent  of  the 
church  already  established  at  Plymouth,  and  second,  that 
the  authority  of  ordination  should  not  exist  in  the  clergy, 
but  should  depend  upon  the  free  choice  of  the  members 
of  the  church,  who  should  have  a  representative  of  their 
power  in  the  person  of  the  ruling  elder.  The  new  church 
rejected  the  ceremonies  and  rites,  and  virtually  disclaimed 
the  authority,  of  the  church  of  England.  This  proceed- 
ing was  offensive  to  a  portion  of  the  settlers,  who,  how- 
ever they  dissented  from  the  arbitrary  rule  of  the  English 
bishops,  were  nevertheless  sincerely  attached  to  the  ritual 
of  the  English  Church. 

Two  of  the  most  influential  settlers,  John  and  Samuel 
Browne,  the  one  a  lawyer^  the  other  a  merchant,  both 
men  of  character  and  members  of  the  colonial  council  in 
England,  withdrew  from  the  church  at  Salem,  and  set 
up  a  separate  society.  They  had  followers.  No  act  of 
theirs  could  have  excited  greater  uneasiness.     The  little 


JOHN    ENDECOTT.  351 

band  of  puritans,  who  had  just  erected  the  standard  of 
their  faith  in  the  wilderness,  suddenly  beheld  the  arm 
of  that  church  which  had  oppressed  them  in  England, 
stretched  out  against  them  in  the  New  World.  They  saw 
no  course  left,  but  to  crush  the  faction  at  a  blow.  The 
persecuted  of  the  Old  World  now  became  the  persecutors 
of  the  New. 

Endecott  was  determined  to  execute  the  plan  of 
church  government  which  had  been  adopted,  and  con- 
sidered himself  clothed  with  sufficient  power  to  enforce 
compliance.  "  If  any  prove  incorrigible/'  said  the  Com- 
pany, in  their  instructions  to  Endecott,  "ship  such  per- 
sons home  by  the  Lyon's  Whelp."*  His  admonitions 
to  the  Brownes  had  been  disregarded,  and  neither  Mr. 
Endecott  nor  his  associates  could  be  satisfied  with  half 
way  measures.  The  heresy  must  be  crushed.  And 
they  who  could  not  be  terrified  into  silence,  says  Bentley, 
were  not  commanded  to  withdraw,  but  were  seized 
and  transported  as  criminals.!  These  proceedings  cast 
a  shade  over  the  reputation  of  Endecott  in  England, 
which  the  friends  of  the  colony  finally  thought  it  prudent 
to  remove  by  endeavours  of  private  reparation  to  the 
parties  aggrieved. 

*  Hazard,  i.  263.  For  all  these  proceedings  of  Governor  Endecott,  he  seems 
to  have  had  ample  warrant  in  his  instructions,  the  general  tone  of  which  may 
be  further  understood  by  what  follows : 

"To  the  end  that  the  Sabbath  may  be  celebrated  in  a  religious  manner,  we 
appoint  that  all  that  inhabit  the  plantation,  both  for  the  general  and  particu- 
lar employments,  may  surcease  their  labour  every  Saturday  throughout  the  year 
at  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  that  they  spend  the  rest  of  that  day  in  chate- 
chizing  and  preparing  for  the  Sabbath,  as  the  ministers  shall  direct." 

Instructions  were  also  given  "  to  settle  some  good  orders,  whereby  all  per- 
sons, resident  upon  our  plantation,  may  apply  themselves  to  one  calling  or  other, 
and  no  idle  drone  be  permitted,  to  live  among  us." 

tBentley,  in  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  vi.  245. 


359  JOHN    ENDECOTT. 

Roger  Williams,  the  apostle  of  religious  toleration, 
arrived  in  Salem  in  1631,  and  his  inlluence  was  soon 
apparent  in  the  little  community.  Before  his  arrival, 
Endecott  had  embraced  the  doctrine. of  veils  for  the  wo- 
men in  the  church;  and  if  he  worshipped  in  the  beauty 
of  holiness,  he  was  determined  that  human  beauty  should 
form  no  part  of  his  pleasure.  A  uniformity  of  dress 
might  be  favorable  to  uniformity  of  manners,  but  though 
encouraged,  could  not  be  enforced.  The  veils  might 
produce  the  best  effects  on  the  public  solemnities,  and  be 
liable  to  no  serious  objections.  Endecott's  heart  was 
upon  the  practice,  and  having  the  assent  of  the  ministers, 
he  did  not  lack  the  zeal  to  enforce  the  injunction.* 

The  settlers  of  new  countries,  in  addition  to  other 
obstacles,  rarely  fail  to  meet  with  difficulties  of  a  person- 
al nature  among  themselves.  An  incident  is  recorded 
by  the  historians,  which  goes  to  illustrate  the  temper  of 
Mr.  Endecott.  In  1631,  a  quarrel  had  arisen  between 
him  and  Thomas  Dexter,  who  had  settled  at  Lynn,  in 
which  the  Salem  magistrate  so  far  forgot  his  dignity  as 
to  strike  Mr.  Dexter.  The  offence,  of  course,  was 
grave  enough  in  such  a  community,  to  attract  general 
notice,  and  was  brought  before  the  court  at  Boston.  En- 
decott, who  was  detained  by  accident  from  the  trial, 
wrote  Governor  Winthrop,  as  follows :  "  I  desired  the 
rather  to  have  been  at  court,  because  I  hear  I  am  much 
complained  of  by  goodman  Dexter  for  striking  him  ;  un- 
derstanding since  it  is  not  lawful  for  a  justice  of  peace  to 
strike.  But  if  you  had  seen  the  manner  of  his  carriage, 
with  such  daring  of  me,  with  his  arms  akimbo,  it  would 
have  provoked  a  very  patient  man.     He  hath  given  out, 

*  Bentlcy,  in  I  Mass.  Hist.  Col!,  vi.  846. 


JOHN    ENDECOTT.  353 

if  I  had  a  purse,  he  would  make  me  empty  it,  and  if  he 
cannot  have  justice  here,  he  will  do  wonders  in  England; 
and  if  he  cannot  prevail  there,  he  will  try  it  out  with  me 
here  at  blows.  If  it  were  lawful  for  me  to  try  it  at 
blows,  and  he  a  fit  man  for  me  to  deal  with,  you  should 
not  hear  me  complain."  The  court  adjudged  the  mag- 
istrate to  have  broken  the  peace,  and  fined  him  <£10, 
although  Dexter  was  doubtless  the  greater  bully  of  the 
two. 

In  1634,  Mr.  Endecott  was  chosen  one  of  the  board 
of  military  commissioners  for  the  colony,  seven  in  num- 
ber, who  were  vested  with  the  extraordinary  and  sum- 
mary power  of  levying  war,  and  of  arresting,  imprison- 
ing, or  executing  persons  deemed  to  be  enemies  of  the 
state.* 

The  zeal  of  Endecott,  warmed  by  the  influence  of 
Roger  Williams,  prompted  him,  in  1634,  to  another  act 
of  imprudence,  for  which  he  received  the  public  censure. 
The  banner  used  by  the  train  band  at  Salem,  had  the 
cross  of  Saint  George  worked  upon  its  folds.  In  his 
impetuous  resolution  to  put  down  every  remnant  of 
what  he  deemed  to  be  popish  or  heathenish  super- 
stition, he  cut  the  cross  from  the  standard.  The  people 
deemed  the  act  to  be  a  rash  one,  and  were  apprehensive 
the  government  in  England  would  consider  it  an  insult 
to  the  national  flag.  The  matter  was  accordingly  brought 
before  the  general  court  at  Boston,  and  after  due  investi- 
gation, they  "adjudged  him  worthy  admonition,  and  to 
be  disabled  for  one  year  from  bearing  any  public  office; 
declining  any  heavier  sentence,  because  they  were  per- 
suaded he  did  it  out  of  tenderness  of  conscience  and 

*  See  p.  286,  of  this  volume. 

45 


354  JOHN    ENDECOTT. 

not  of  any  evil  intent."*  The  indomitable  spirit  of  the 
Salem  magistrate  was  not  daunted  by  this  censure,  and  in 
Roger  Williams,  then  the  beloved  minister  of  Salem,  he 
had  a  faithful  co-operator  against  heresy  and  sin  in  the  lit- 
tle world  around  them.  The  bold  preaching  of  Williams 
became  distasteful  to  the  rulers  of  the  colony,  and  an 
attempt  was  made  to  silence  him,  before  proceeding  to  the 
act  of  banishment^  which  not  long  after  followed.  The 
people  of  Salem  defended  their  preacher,  and  Endecott 
justified  their  defence,  in  terms  which  were  offensive  to 
the  magistrates  and  deputies,  whereupon  they  committed 
him.  Finding  it  useless  to  resist,  he  finally  made  the 
acknowledgment  required,  and  was  released. f 

From  this  period,  Mr.  Endecott  seems  to  have  acted 
in  full  harmony  with  the  other  leaders  of  the  colony, 
and  to  have  regained  the  esteem,  which  his  imprudent 
zeal  in  the  outset  had  jeoparded.  In  1636,  he  was 
placed  in  command  of  an  expedition  from  Massachusetts 
against  the  Pequot  Indians.  John  Oldham,  of  Cape 
Ann,  had  been  murdered  by  a  party  of  the  natives,  who 
fled  to  the  Pequots,  and  were  protected  by  them.  Con- 
sidering them  abettors  of  the  murder,  the  Massachusetts 
government  decided  to  send  a  military  force  under  com- 
mand of  Endecott,  with  a  commission  to  offer  the  Pe- 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  i,  158.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note,  that,  in  the  very 
next  year,  after  solemn  consultation,  only  two  of  the  council  would  consent  to> 
spread  the  King's  colors  even  in  the  fort,  on  account  of  the  Cross  in  them.  (See 
p.  318,  of  this  volume.)  Hence,  it  has  been  observed,  that  Endecott's  assent  to 
Roger  Williams'  heresy  may  have  had  some  influence  in  subjecting  him  to  the 
censure  above  mentioned.  Felt,  than  whom  no  one  has  more  carefully  studied 
the  character  of  the  first  settlers  of  Massachusetts,  in  his  Annals  of  Salem, 
says  most  of  the  principal  men  of  the  colony  thought  as  Endecott  did  on  the 
subject  of  the  cross.  "  The  difference  between  them  was,  that  he  manifested 
his  opinion  in  deed,  and  they  retained  theirs  in  secret."     Annals  of  Salem,  77. 

1  Savage's  Winthrop,  i.  166. 


JOHN    ENDECOTT. 


355 


quots  terms  of  peace,  on  condition  of  their  surrendering 
the  murderers  and  forbearing  further  acts  of  hostility,  or 
else  war.  When  the  military  force  arrived,  the  Pequots 
fled  where  pursuit  became  impracticable,  and  little  was 
effected  by  the  expedition.  Winter  was  approaching, 
and  Capt.  Endecott  deemed  it  prudent  to  return.  He  did 
not  escape  censure  for  the  ill  success  of  his  expedition. 
The  enemy  was  indeed  emboldened  by  the  result — and  in 
the  following  year  committed  further  aggressions,  which 
were  finally  avenged,  by  the  extinction  of  their  tribe 
by  the  English  under  the  warlike  Captain  Mason,  aided 
by  the  friendly  Narragansetts.* 

In  1644,  Mr,  Endecott  was  chosen  governor  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. He  was  again  elected  to  that  office  in  1649, 
and  also  from  1651  to  1653,  and  from  1655  to  1664,  in  the 
whole  fifteen  years — being  at  the  head  of  the  administra- 
tion of  the  colony  for  a  longer  period  than  any  other 
governor  under  the  old  charter. 

His  administration  was  of  course  marked  by  the  en- 
ergy, as  well  as  by  the  faults,  of  his  character.  A  stern 
magistrate,  fired  by  an  intense  zeal  against  all  heresy,  he 
was  ready  to  apply  the  sword  of  the  civil  power  for  its 
extinction.  When  the  enthusiast,  Anne  Hutchinson,  be- 
gan to  disturb  the  churches  by  her  preaching,  Endecott 
was  found  by  the  side  of  Dudley  and  the  fiery  Hugh 
Peters  in  opposition  to  her  heresy.  The  elders  and  ma- 
gistrates were  shocked  by  the  boldness  of  her  teachings, 
and  alarmed  at  the  progress  of  her  doctrines  among  the 
people  of  Boston.  Endecott  assumed  a  high  preroga- 
tive against  all  dissenting  sects,  and  history  records  that 
as  a  magistrate  he  did  not  bear  the  sword  in  vain.     Mrs. 

*  See  pp.  143  and  302,  of  this  volume. 


356  JOHN    ENDECOTT. 

Hutchinson,  after  a  formal  trial,  was  banished,  and  the 
most  conspicuous  of  her  adherents,  or  rather  those  who 
were  opposed  to  her  persecution,  were  disarmed.  Sever- 
al persons  at  Salem  were  disgraced,  or  excommunicated. 
Others,  suspected  of  being  friendly  to  the  anabaptists, 
were  deprived  of  personal  liberty,  or  restricted  to  pre- 
scribed bounds;  and  in  1644,  banishment  was  decreed 
against  the  whole  sect.  The  spirit  of  this  law  was  re- 
tained in  the  act  of  1646,  against  heresy — and  ten  years 
after,  when  the  Quakers  made  their  appearance  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, an  act  of  banishment  was  passed  upon  the 
entire  sect,  with  the  penalty  of  death,  if  disregarded. 

The  rumor  of  the  coming  of  the  Quakers,  filled  the 
colonists  with  alarm.  A  fast  was  ordered  on  account  of 
it  in  June,  1656.  In  October,  the  hated  sect  had  made 
their  appearance.  The  Court  of  Assistants  thereupon 
pass  an  order,  forbidding  masters  of  vessels  bringing  them 
over,  under  a  penalty  of  ,£100.  They  next  order  that 
if  any  Quaker  comes  into  Massachusetts,  he  shall  be  con- 
fined, whipped,  kept  at  work,  and  not  suffered  to  speak. 
Any  person  bringing  a  Quaker  book  into  the  colony,  was 
to  be  fined  £5  for  every  book ;  any  one  defending  their 
doctrines,  40s.  for  the  first  offence,  £4  for  the  second, 
and  if  persisting,  then  to  be  imprisoned  and  banished. 

1657.  October.  The  Court  order  a  fine  for  every 
hour's  entertainment  or  concealment  of  a  Quaker,  of 
40s.  They  further  order  that  if  any  male  of  that  sect 
return  after  banishment,  he  shall  have  one  of  his  ears 
cut  off;  and  for  a  second  return,  shall  have  the  other  ear 
cut  off,  and  be  kept  at  the  house  of  correction.  Any 
female  so  doing,  to  be  whipped,  and  kept  at  the  house 
of  correction.     If  any  of  either  sex  come  back  a  third 


JOHN    ENDECOTT.  357 

time,  they  were  to  have  their  tongues  bored  through  with 
a  hot  iron.  And  any  colonists  siding  with  them  were  to 
be  treated  with  equal  severity. 

1658.  May.  The  Court  order  that  any  person  at- 
tending a  Quaker  meeting  shall  pay  10s. ,  and  £5  for 
speaking  where  it  may  be  held.  In  October  of  this  year, 
the  Quakers  increasing,  notwithstanding  their  persecu- 
tions, the  Court  order  them  to  be  banished  on  pain  of 
death. 

1661.  May.  The  Court  order  that  Quakers  when 
discovered,  shall  be  made  bare  from  the  middle  upwards, 
tied  to  a  cart,  and  whipped  through  the  town  to  the 
boundary  of  the  colony,  and  if  returning  a  second  time, 
to  be  similarly  punished  and  branded  on  the  shoulder,  if 
a  third  time,  to  be  banished  on  pain  of  death.  On  the 
27th  November,  1661,  the  General  Court  assembled  to 
consider  the  order  of  the  King,  forbidding  the  further 
persecution  of  the  Quakers,  and  voted  to  comply  with 
the  order. 

Sanguinary  as  these  laws  were,  they  were  executed 
in  many  cases,  and  in  all  the  forms  enumerated,  except- 
ing those  of  boring  the  tongue  and  cutting  off  the  ears. 
Heavy  fines  were  imposed,  and  imprisonment  and  stripes, 
chains  and  the  dungeon,  and  even  death  were  inflicted. 
In  all  these  rigorous  measures,  Governor  Endecott  con- 
curred, with  the  hearty  zeal  of  an  honest  but  misguided 
man. 

In  1659,  two  men  and  one  woman,  (Quakers,*)  were 
tried  before  the  general  court  of  Massachusetts,  and  sen- 
tenced to  death.     The  two  men  were  executed,  but  the 

*  Their  names  were  William  Robinson,  Marmaduke  Stephenson,  and  Mary 
Dyer.     Another,  William  Leddra,  was  executed,  in  March,  1660. 


358  JOHN    ENDECOTT. 

woman  was  reprieved,  on  condition  of  her  departure 
from  the  jurisdiction  in  forty-eight  hours;  and  if  she  re- 
turned, to  suffer  the  sentence.  She  was  carried,  how- 
ever, to  the  gallows,  and  stood  with  a  rope  about  her  neck 
until  the  others  were  executed.  "  The  blood  of  the 
martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  church" — and  many  of  these 
enthusiastic  people  actually  courted  persecution.  The 
infatuated  woman  above  mentioned  returned,  and  was 
executed  in  1660.  Charles  II.  was  restored  in  1660, 
and  in  the  following  year  issued  a  mandamus  forbidding 
the  further  persecution  of  the  Quakers.*  The  bloody 
laws  were  repealed,  and  the  dawn  of  that  glorious  tolera- 
tion appeared,  which  has  since  redeemed  and  elevated 
the  character  of  the  country. 

Dr.  Robertson  styles  Governor  Endecott  "  a  deep  en- 
thusiast," and  it  is  certain  that  his  energetic  mind  was 
not  unfrequently  directed  to  the  rigorous  enforcement  of 
frivolous  observances.     Well  might  the  historian  Hutch- 

*  The  Mandamus  of  King  Charles  is  dated  at  Whitehall,  the  9th  day  of 
September,  1661,  and  is  directed  "To  our  trusty  and  well-beloved  John  Ende- 
cott, esquire,  and  to  all  and  every  other  the  governor  or  governors  of  our  plan- 
tations of  New-England,  and  of  all  the  colonies  thereunto  belonging,  that  now 
are  or  hereafter  shall  be,  and  to  all  and  every  the  ministers  and  officers  of  our 
plantations  and  colonies  whatsoever  within  the  continent  of  New-England." 
There  is  a  copy  of  it  in  Hazard's  Collections,  ii.  595,  in  Sewell's  History  of  the 
Quakers,  i.  475,  and  in  the  Journal  of  George  Fox,  pp.  326,  327.  Fox  gives 
the  following  account  of  its  being  presented  to  the  governor.  It  was  brought 
over  in  1661,  by  Samuel  Shattock,  who  had  been  banished  by  the  government 
ot  Massachusetts  for  being  a  Quaker.  He  and  Ralph  Goldsmith,  the  com- 
mander of  the  ship  in  which  they  came,  "  went  through  the  town  [of  Boston] 
to  the  governor's,  John  Endecott's  door,  and  knocked.  He  sent  out  a  man  to 
know  their  business.  They  sent  him  word  their  business  was  from  the  king  of 
England,  and  they  would  deliver  their  message  to  none  but  the  governor  him- 
self. Thereupon  they  were  admitted  in,  and  the  governor  came  to  them  ;  and 
having  received  the  deputation  and  the  Mandamus,  he  put  off  his  hat  and  looked 
upon  them."  Then  going  out,  he  bid  the  friends  follow.  He  went  to  the  deputy 
governor,  and  after  a  short  consultation,  came  out  to  the  friends,  and  said  •  We 
shall  obey  his  majesty's  commands.'  "     George  Fox,  Journal,  folio  p.  326. 


JOHN    ENDECOTT.  359 

inson  remark,  that  the  scrupulosity  of  the  good  people 
of  the  colony  must  have  been  at  its  height,  when  Gov- 
ernor Endecott,  the  most  rigid  of  any  of  the  magistrates, 
joined  in  an  association  against  the  custom  of  wearing 
long  hair.* 

It  is  observed  by  Mather,  in  the  Magnalia,  that  after 
the  death  of  Mr.  Dudley,  the  notice  and  respect  of  the 
colony  fell  chiefly  on  Mr.  Endecott.     He  was  at  the  head 

*  Harvard  College  Records,  under  date  of  3d  mo.  10th  day,  1649,  contain 
the  following  paper,  drawn  up  by  the  governor  and  magistrates  against  the  cus- 
tom of  wearing  long  hair  : 

"  Forasmuch  as  the  wearing  of  long  hair,  after  the  manner  of  Ruffians 
and  Barbarous  Indians,  has  begun  to  invade  New  England,  contrary  to  the  rule 
of  God's  word,  which  sa3rs  it  is  a  shame  to  wear  long  hair,  as  also  the  com- 
mendable custom  generally  of  all  the  godly  of  our  nation,  until  within  these 
few  years  : 

"  We  the  magistrates,  who  have  subscribed  this  paper,  (for  the  shewing  of 
our  own  innocency  in  this  behalf,)  do  declare  and  manifest  our  dislike  and  de- 
testation against  the  wearing  of  such  long  hair,  as  against  a  thing  uncivil  and 
unmanly,  whereby  men  doe  deforme  themselves,  and  offend  sober  and  modest 
men,  and  doe  corrupt  good  manners.  We  doe  therefore  earnestly  entreat  all 
the  elders  of  the  jurisdiction  (as  often  as  they  shall  see  cause)  to  manifest  their 
zeal  against  it  in  their  public  administrations,  and  to  take  care  that  the  mem- 
bers of  their  respective  churches  be  not  defiled  therewith,  that  so  such  as  shall 
prove  obstinate  and  will  not  reform  themselves,  may  have  God  and  man  to 
witness  against  them.     The  third  month,  10th  day,  1649. 

Jo.  Endecott,  governor.  William  Hibbins, 

Tiio.  Dudley,  dep.  gov.  Thomas  Flint, 

Rich.  Bellingham,  Rob.  Bridges, 

Richard  Saltonstall,  Simon  Bkadstreet." 

Increase  Nowell, 
A  like  absurdity  in  former  days  pricked  the  consciences  of  prelates,  kings 
and  courtiers.  Anselm,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  pronounced  an  anathema 
of  excommunication  on  all  who  wore  long  hair.  Serlo,  a  Norman  bishop,  ac- 
quired great  honor  by  a  sermon  which  he  preached  before  Henry  I.  in  1104, 
against  long  curled  hair,  with  which  the  king  and  his  courtiers  were  so  much 
affected,  that  they  consented  to  resign  their  flowing  ringlets,  whereupon  the 
prudent  prelate,  determining  to  give  them  no  time  to  change  their  minds, 
pulled  a  pair  of  shears  out  of  his  sleeve,  and  performed  the  operation  with  his 
own  hand.  A  canon  is  still  extant,  of  the  date  of  10C6,  importing  that  such  as 
wore  long  hair  should  be  excluded  from  the  church  whilst  living,  or  being 
prayed  for  when  dead.  Now,  the  very  curates  rejoice  in  ringlets  and  macas- 
sar.— Black.  Ediii.  Mag.  lvi.  460. 


360  JOHN    ENDECOTT. 

of  the  colony,  during  the  difficult  and  critical  period  of 
the  great  political  dissensions  and  civil  wars  in  Eng- 
land. Mr.  Endecott's  bias  in  that  controversy  was  ap- 
parent, and  corresponded  with  that  of  the  country,  but 
the  public  proceedings  were  temperate  and  wise.  On 
the  restoration  of  Charles  II.,  the  English  statesmen 
could  not  fail  to  perceive  that  the  spirit  of  liberty  was 
every  where  prevalent  in  the  colonies.  The  Earl  of 
Clarendon,  in  framing  his  plan  for  their  government  by 
commissioners,  remarked,  that  "  they  were  already  har- 
dened into  republics."  In  1664,  the  royal  commission 
was  established,  over-riding  the  existing  charters,  and 
in  April  of  the  following  year,  they  began  to  execute 
their  trust  in  Massachusetts.  Governor  Endecott  was  at 
this  time  in  the  chair,  and  when  the  commissioners  pro- 
ceeded to  sit  in  judgment  upon  the  governor  and  gen- 
eral court  of  the  colony,  the  spirit  of  the  puritans  was 
kindled,  and  the  general  court  "  published  by  sound  of 
trumpet  their  disapprobation  of  this  proceeding,  and  pro- 
hibited every  one  from  abetting  a  conduct  so  inconsist- 
ent with  their  duty  to  their  God,  and  allegiance  to  the 
King."  The  crest-fallen  commissioners  departed,  threat- 
ening against  the  authorities  of  Massachusetts  u  the  pun- 
ishment which  many  in  England  concerned  in  the  late 
rebellion  had  met  with."  Thus  early  appeared  in  the 
fathers  of  Massachusetts  the  unyielding  spirit  of  liberty, 
which  a  century  afterwards  was  found  to  be  invincible 
in  their  descendants.  The  famous  stamp  act  was  passed 
just  a  century  after  this  abortive  essay  of  the  royal  com- 
missioners. 

The  firmness  of  Governor  Endecott  in  these  pro- 
ceedings was  noted  in  England,  and  instructions  were 


JOHN    ENDECOTT. 


361 


given  to  the  end  that  another  person  more  acceptable  to 
the  King  should  be  chosen  governor  at  the  next  election. 
Governor  Endecott  died,  however,  before  the  effect  of 
this  recommendation  could  be  ascertained.  But  as  his 
integrity  and  firmness  in  the  great  agitations  through 
which  they  had  already  passed,  had  gained  the  confi- 
dence of  the  people,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  royal 
intimation  to  his  prejudice  would  have  been  altogether 
disregarded. 

Governor  Endecott,  before  his  election  to  that  office, 
removed  from  Salem  to  Boston,  where  he  died  in  office 
on  the  15th  March,  1665,  in  the  77th  year  of  his  age. 
His  will,  dated  at  Boston,  2d  May,  1659,  mentions  the 
house  he  lived  in,  which  was  on  the  lot  formerly  the  re- 
sidence of  Gardiner  Greene.  The  house,  a  part  of 
which  was  lately  standing  at  the  corner  of  Court  and 
Church  streets  in  Salem,  occupied  by  Governor  Ende- 
cott during  his  residence  there,  was  first  erected  by  the 
Dorchester  company  at  Cape  Ann,  and  removed  from 
thence  to  Salem  in  1628,  by  Walter  Knight  and  others, 
for  the  Governor's  use.  The  Rev.  John  Sparhawk  oc- 
cupied this  house  in  1736,  and  Timothy  Orne,  Sen., 
afterwards.  It  was  afterwards  known  as  the  iC  Ship 
Tavern."  Governor  Endecott  was  a  large  landholder  in 
different  parts  of  the  country.  The  first  grant  ever 
made  in  the  interior  of  New  Hampshire,  was  of  500 
acres  selected  for  Governor  Endecott  of  the  finest  inter- 
val land  on  the  Merrimack,  in  Concord.  It  was  granted 
in  1657,  and  is  now  known  as  the  Endecott,  or  Sewall 
farm.  The  farm  cultivated  by  Governor  Endecott  near 
Salem,  is  said  to  remain  in  possession  of  a  descendant. 
There  is  a  good  portrait  of  Endecott  in  one  of  the  apart- 
46 


362  JOHN    ENDECOTT. 

ments  of  the  State  House  at  Boston ;  and  another,  said  to 
be  an  original,  in  possession  of  W.  P.  Endicott,  Esq.,  of 
Salem.* 

Governor  Endecott  has  not  unfrequently  been  repre- 
sented as  rude  and  uncultivated,  inexperienced  in  the 
passions  of  men,  and  untouched  by  any  of  the  finer  feel- 
ings and  sympathies  of  our  nature.  Stern,  inflexible, 
and  uncompromising,  particularly  towards  those  who 
differed  from  him  in  religious  matters ;  his  great  firm- 
ness and  decision  have  often  been  construed  into  grovel- 
ling wilfulness  and  unbending  obstinacy.  That  he  was 
a  man  of  good  intellectual  endowments,  and  mental  cul- 
ture, and  that  he  possessed  a  fearless  and  independent 
spirit,  which  well  fitted  him  for  the  various  duties  he 
was  called  upon  to  perform,  is  very  certain.  But  his 
highest  claim  to  distinction  rests  upon  the  fact  that  he 
was  a  successful  leader  of  the  Pilgrims,  and  his  name  is 
so  closely  associated  with  the  first  settlement  of  the  coun- 
try, and  with  whose  early  history  his  own  is  so  closely 
interwoven,  that  the  learned  and  Rev.  Dr.  Bentley,  of 
Salem,  in  a  letter  to  the  elder  Adams,  says,  "  above  all 
others,  he  deserves  the  name  of  the  Father  of  New 
England." 

The  principal  charge  against  Governor  Endecott  is 
his  want  of  liberality  in  religious  matters.  "But  where 
was  liberality  to  be  found  in  the  seventeenth  century  ? 
Governor  Endecott's  integrity  and  firmness  in  all  the  po- 
litical questions  which  were  agitated  in  his  day  with  the 
mother  country,  merited  the  confidence  and  gratitude  of 
his  own.     His  was  no  temporizing  policy.     He  was  a 

*This  gentleman  is  also  said  to  possess  the  small  sword  used  by  Governor 
Endecott,  and  some  of  his  Manuscripts. 


JOHJV    ENDECOTT.  363 

faithful  sentinel  upon  the  watch-towers  of  his  country's 
interests,  ever  jealous  of  her  rights,  and  ever  zealous  for 
her  welfare.  He  fulfilled  all  the  trusts  committed  to  his 
care  with  an  honesty  of  purpose,  and  a  fidelity  that 
knew  no  fear ;  having  for  his  reward,  far  above  all  earthly 
distinctions,  the  approval  of  his  own  conscience  in  a  life 
well  and  usefully  spent." 

From  Prince,  we  learn  that  Governor  Endecott 
brought  a  wife  from  England,  of  whose  death  no  ac- 
count is  given.  Her  name  was  Anna  Gover.  His 
second  wife  was  Elizabeth  Gibson,  whom  he  married 
18th  August,  1630.  She  survived  her  husband.*  Gov- 
ernor Endecott  had  two  sons — 

John,  the  eldest,  was  born  about  the  year  1 632,  re- 
moved with  his  father  to  Boston  in  1644,  was  married, 
Nov.  9,  1653,  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Jeremy  Hou- 
chin,  of  Boston,  admitted  freeman  in  1665,  and  died  in 
1667,  leaving  no  children. 

Zerubabel,  the  second  son,  was  born  in  1635,  was  a 
physician,  and  lived  in  Salem ;  and  from  him  have  de- 
scended all  the  Endecotts  who  have  lived  in  Salem  and 
its  immediate  vicinity.     He  was  father  of  six  sons  and 

seven  daughters.     His  first  wife  was  Mary ,  the 

mother  of  most,  if  not  all,  of  his  children.  His  second 
wife  was  Elizabeth,  widow  of  Rev.  Antipas  Newman, 
of  Wenham,  and  daughter  of  Governor  John  Winthrop, 
of  Connecticut,  to  whom  he  was  married  some  time  sub- 
sequent to  the  year  1672.  He  was  admitted  a  freeman 
in  1665,  and  died  March  27,  1684.     The  names  of  his 

*  The  property  of  Governor  Endectt's  widow  not  being  sufficient  for  her 
support,  the  general  court,  in  1671,  granted  her  an  annuity  of  £30  during  her 
widowhood.  This  act  was  an  indication  of  the  public  respect  both  for  her  and 
her  deceased  husband.     Felt's  Annals  of  Salem,  239. 


364  JOHN    ENDECOTT. 

children,  which  are  here  mentioned  in  the  order  of  their 
births,  were  Elizabeth,  Elizabeth,  Zerubabel,  John, 
Samuel,  Zerubabel,  Benjamin,  Joseph,  Mary,  Sarah, 
(who  married  Nathaniel  Gilbert  of  Boston,)  Elizabeth, 
Hannah  and  Mehitable.  The  three  first  died  in  infancy, 
and  the  others  survived  their  father.  By  his  will,  dated 
Nov.  23,  1683,  he  bequeathed  to  his  two  eldest  surviv- 
ing sons,  John  and  Samuel,  the  old  homestead  of  his 
father  in  Salem,  (now  Danvers,)  called  the  " Orchard." 
To  Zerubabel,  Benjamin  and  Joseph,  he  left  a  tract  of 
land  of  555  acres,  granted  by  the  General  Court  to  the 
Governor,  and  bequeathed  by  the  Governor  to  him,  on 
the  Ipswich  river  in  Topsfield,  (now  Boxford,)  to  be 
equally  divided  between  them,  with  a  proviso  that  if 
either  died  without  heirs,  his  part  was  to  revert  to  the 
survivors.  The  five  daughters  inherited  an  island  of 
about  two  acres  near  Marblehead,  called  Cotta  Island, 
and  other  legacies. 

John,  eldest  son  of  Zerubabel,  and  grandson  of  the 
Governor,  was  born  about  1662;  was,  like  his  father,  a 
physician,  and  some  time  in  London,  England,  complet- 
ing his  education.     He  married  Ann ,  had  one 

son,  Robert  Edwards,  who  died  without  issue,  and  one 
daughter,  Anna,  who  married  her  cousin  Samuel,  Dec. 
20,  1711.  He  died  at  Salem,  probably  on  the  "  Or- 
chard'' farm,  in  May,  1700.  Felt,  in  his  Annals  of  Salem, 
says  he  was  "  active,  useful  and  respected." 

Samuel,  second  son  of  Zerubabel,  was  born  about  the 
year  1664,  lived  at  the  "  Orchard  "  in  Salem,  married 

Hannah ,  and  had  two  sons,  John  and  Samuel. 

Until  within  a  few  years,  the  "  Orchard  farm  "  has  been 
cultivated  by,  and  has  been  the  residence  of,  some  one 


JOHN    ENDECOTT.  365 

of  the  descendants  of  Samuel,  many  of  whom  have  led 
peaceful  and  quiet  lives,  cultivating  the  soil  for  a  liveli- 
hood, without  entering  public  life,  any  further  than  oc- 
casionally representing  the  town  in  which  they  resided, 
either  in  the  legislature  or  in  municipal  trusts ;  while 
some  of  the  fifth  and  many  of  the  sixth  generation  turned 
their  attention  to  commerce,  and  were  successful  mer- 
chants, fulfilling  all  their  obligations  with  fidelity.  There 
are  one  or  two  families  living  in  Worcester  county,  Mas- 
sachusetts, but  Salem  and  vicinity  has  been,  and  still  is, 
their  "  home."  Some  have  been  sea  captains,  generally 
in  the  China  trade,  and  having  "  had  enough  of  the  sea," 
are  now  filling  responsible  and  honorable  stations  in 
society. 

Zerubabel,  third  son  of  Zerubabel,  was  born  Feb.  14, 

1664,  married  Grace ,  by  whom  he  had  one  son, 

named  Zerubabel,  and  five  daughters,  Grace,  Mehita- 
ble,  Elizabeth,  Phebe  and  Hannah.  In  1715,  he  was 
living  on  his  inheritance  in  Topsfield,  as  a  farmer,  where 
he  died.  The  son  Zerubabel  dying  without  heirs,  sub- 
sequently to  the  father,  the  five  sisters  finally  possessed 
the  family  estate. 

Benjamin,  fourth  son  of  Zerubabel,  was  born  in 
1687,  and  in  1715  was  living  on  the  Topsfield  farm  as  a 
farmer,  where  he  died  in  1735,  without  heirs. 

Joseph,  fifth  son  of  Zerubabel,  was  born  at  Salem 
(the  birth  place  of  all  his  father's  children)  in  1669,  mar- 
ried Hannah ,  and  left  at  his  death,  according  to 

his  will,  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State, 
at  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  two  sons,  John  and  Joseph,  and 
two  daughters,  Ann  Gillam,  and  Elizabeth  Delavane. 
A  grandson,  Joseph  Bishop,  is  also  mentioned.     In  a 


366  JOHN    EJVDECOTT. 

deed  executed  by  him,  and  recorded  in  what  is  now 
Boxford,  Massachusetts,  he  styles  himself  "  Joseph  En- 
decott,  of  North  Hampton,  county  of  Burlington,  in  West 
Jersey,  in  the  government  of  New  York,  yeoman."  He 
died  in  May,  1747,  at  North  Hampton. 

Benjamin,  son  of  John,  and  grandson  of  Joseph  En- 
decott,  of  North  Hampton,  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. John,  his  son,  was  lately  living,  at  an  advanced 
age,  in  Port  Republic,  New  Jersey,  where  others  of  the 
family  reside. 

About  the  year  1700,  there  were  living  in  Boston 
three  brothers,  John,  William  and  Gilbert  Endecott,  the 
elder  of  which  appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  some  note, 
if  owning  lands  and  houses,  and  holding  the  office  of 
church  warden  in  King's  Chapel  would  make  him  so. 
Where  these  brothers  were  born,  or  whence  they  came 
to  Boston,  is  uncertain.  John,  the  eldest,  was  father  of 
about  ten  children,  none  of  which  survived  him;  Wil- 
liam, of  about  as  many  more,  of  which  no  account  can 
be  given,  and  Gilbert,  of  two  only,  whose  descendants 
are  numerous  in  Norfolk  county,  Massachusetts,  where 
he  died,  Oct.  18,  1716.  The  families  of  that  name  in 
Boston,  are  supposed  to  be  derived  from  Governor  En- 
decott, and  those  residing  in  New  York  are  descended 
from  Gilbert,  of  Boston. 

The  Governor  spelt  his  name  Endecott,  and  this  mode 
of  spelling  was  retained  as  late  as  1724,  as  the  records 
show.  Since  that  time,  it  has  been  variously  written, 
Endicott,  Indecott,  and  Endicot,  and  few  names  have  suf- 
fered more  from  distortion  in  spelling  than  this. 


367 


VII.     JOHN   LEVERETT. 

John  Leverett  was  a  native  of  England,  and  came 
over  with  his  father.  Elder  Thomas  Leverett,  in  compa- 
ny with  the  Rev.  John  Cotton  and  others,  in  1633, 
Thomas  Leverett  lived  at  Boston,  in  Lincolnshire,  Eng- 
land, where  all  his  children,  sixteen  in  number,  were 
born  and  baptized,  the  youngest  of  which  was  baptized 
12th  April,  1632.  Mr.  Leverett,  being  disposed  to  aid 
the  emigration  of  settlers  to  Massachusetts,  advanced  fifty 
pounds  sterling,  for  the  purpose  of  transporting  poor 
families,  building  churches  and  fortifications,  maintaining 
ministers,  and  other  public  charges  of  the  plantation.* 
He  came  over  in  1633,  in  company  with  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Cotton  and  others,  became  a  member  of  the  Boston 
church  in  October  of  that  year,  at  which  time  his  wife 
Anne  also  joined,  and  on  the  5th  November  following, 
was  admitted  to  the  freeman's  oath.  Dr.  Cotton  Mather 
ascribes  to  the  vigilance  and  discretion  of  Mr.  Leverett, 
while  in  England,  the  defeat  of  many  designs  to  molest 
his  friend  Mr.  Cotton  for  non-conformity;  and  says,  that 
"  quickly  after  Mr.  Cotton's  ordination  in  Boston,  the 
church  called  and  settled  Mr.  Leverett  as  their  ruling 
elder,  which  office  he  sustained  till  his  death." 

*  The  general  court  of  Massachusetts,  19  Oct.  1652,  acknowledged  the  obli- 
,  gations  of  the  colony  to  Elder  Leverett,  by  the  following  vote  :  "  Whereas  the 
father  of  Captain  John  Leverett,  deceased,  was  an  adventurer  with  the  first  into 
these  parts,  by  adventuring  money  for  the  forwarding  the  plantation,  who  never 
had  any  allowance  of  land  or  otherwise  for  the  same :  This  Court  doth  hereby 
grant  to  Capt.  John  Leverett,  his  son,  all  those  small  Islands  lying  within  the 
Bay  between  Allerton's  Point,  and  Nehenot,  not  heretofore  granted."  Mass, 
Colony  Records. 


368  JOHN    LEVERETT. 

John  Leverett  was  born  in  July,  1616,  and,  notwith- 
standing the  numerous  family  of  his  father,  is  said  to 
have  been  his  only  son  and  heir  at  the  time  of  Eider 
Leverett's  decease.*  He  was  admitted  to  the  Boston 
church,  14th  July,  1639,  and  made  a  freeman  in  1640. 
Soon  after  his  establishment  in  Boston,  he  engaged  in 
extensive  business  as  a  merchant,  and  was  concerned  in 
hazardous  commercial  adventures  with  Edward  Gibbons, 
by  which  he  impaired  his  fortune.  He  also  became  a 
distinguished  military  officer,  and  in  1663,  was  chosen 
major  general  of  the  colony,  and  again  in  1666.  He  was 
an  active  member  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artil- 
lery Company  of  Boston  for  more  than  thirty-two  years; 
and,  besides  other  offices  in  the  company,  was  commander 
in  1652,  1663,  and  1670. 

Mr.  Leverett  spent  a  considerable  portion  of  his  life 
in  the  service  of  the  colony.  In  1642,  he  was  sent  with 
Edward  Hutchinson,  on  an  embassy  to  Miantonomoh,  the 
sachem  of  the  Narragansetts,  the  object  of  which  was  to 
ascertain  the  truth  of  the  current  rumors,  that  the  In- 
dians all  over  the  country  had  combined  to  cut  off  the 
English  settlements.  It  was  a  period  of  great  alarm.  A 
constant  watch  was  kept  in  the  several  plantations  from 
sunset  to  sunrise,  and  places  of  retreat  provided  for  the 
women  and  children  in  case  of  attack.  The  Indians 
within  the  colony  were  disarmed ;  but  after  all,  there 
seems  to  have  been  no  sufficient  grounds  for  the  general 
alarm.  Mr.  Leverett  informed  the  sachem  of  the  rea- 
sons of  his  coming,  and  that  the  governor  required  of 
him  an  explanation. 

*  See  Appendix  to  Waldo's  Defence  of  the  Title  of  John  Leverett  to  the 
Muscongus  Lands,  &c,  folio,  1736,  p.  41. 


JOHN    LEVERETT.  369 

His  reception  by  the  great  chief,  is  thus  described  by 
Winthrop  :  "  Miantonomoh  carried  them  apart  into  the 
woods,  taking  only  one  of  his  chief  men  with  him,  and 
gave  them  very  rational  answers  to  all  their  propositions. 
He  visited  Boston  according  to  his  promise.     Being  cal- 
led in,  and  mutual  salutations  passed,  he  was  set  down 
at  the  lower  end  of  the  table  over  against  the  governor, 
and  had  only  two  or  three  of  his  counsellors,  and  two  or 
three  of  our  neighboring  Indians,  such  as  he  desired,  but 
would  not  speak  of  any  business  at  any  time,  before  some 
of  his  counsellors  were  present,  that  they  might  bear 
witness  with  him  at  his  return  home  of  all  his  sayings. 
"In  all  his  answers,  he  was  very  deliberate,  and  showed 
good  understanding  in  the  principles  of  justice  and  equity 
and  ingenuity  withal.     He  demanded  to  have  his  accu- 
sers produced.      The  English   answered,  the  accusers 
were  not  in  their  power;   that  they  did  not  intend  to 
give  any  credit  to  their  charges,  until  they  had  informed 
him  of  them,  and  given  him  an  opportunity  to  deny  them. 
He  then  asked,  why  they  disarmed  their  Indians,  if  they 
had  not  credited  these  charges?  They  answered,  they 
had  done  it  for  their  own  security,  some  of  the  Indians 
at  Saco  having  robbed  some  of  the  whites;  and  with  this 
answer  he  was  satisfied.     He  gave  many  reasons  why 
they  should  hold  him  free  of  any  such  conspiracy,  al- 
ledging  it  to  be  a  fabrication  of  his  enemy,  Uncas.     He 
said  that,  being  innocent,  he  trusted  to  the  justice  of  the 
English,  and  that  he  would  come  to  them  any  time  they 
requested,  if  they  would   only  send    him  some  Indians 
he  liked.     The  greater  part  of  two  days  were  spent  in 
making  arrangements,  and  all  things  were  accommodated. 
Only  some  difficulty  we  had  to  bring  him  to  desert  the 
47 


370  JOHN    LEVERETT. 

Nyariticks,  if  we  had  just  cause  of  war  with  them.  They 
were,  he  said,  his  own  flesh,  being  allied  by  continual 
intermarriages.  But  at  last  he  agreed,  if  he  could  not 
bring  them  to  make  satisfaction,  he  would  leave  them  to 
the  English.  When  we  should  go  to  dinner,  there  was 
a  table  provided  for  the  Indians  to  dine  by  themselves, 
and  Miantonomoh  was  left  to  sit  with  them.  This  he 
was  discontented  at,  and  would  eat  nothing  until  the  gov- 
ernor sent  meat  for  him  from  his  own  table.  When  he 
departed,  we  gave  him  and  his  counsellors,  coats  and  to- 
bacco, and  when  he  came  to  take  leave  of  the  governor, 
and  such  of  the  magistrates  as  were  present,  he  returned 
and  gave  his  hand  to  the  governor,  saying  that  was  for 
the  rest  of  the  magistrates  who  were  absent."* 

Mr.  Leverett  spent  some  time  in  England,  in  1644-5, 
and  while  there,  was  appointed  a  captain  in  Rainsborrow's 
regiment,  in  the  service  of  parliament,  but  soon  after  re- 
turned to  Massachusetts.  He  was  first  chosen  represen- 
tative from  Boston,  in  1651,  and  during  a  portion  of  the 
year  was  Speaker  of  the  House.  He  was  re-elected  in 
1652  and  '3,  and  again  in  1663,  '4  and  '5. 

In  July,  1652,  Mr.  Leverett  was  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners appointed  to  visit  the  settlements  in  Maine,  and 
declare  them  to  be  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Massachu- 
setts. Soon  after,  a  county  called  Yorkshire  was  estab- 
lished in  Maine,  and  sent  deputies  to  the  general  court 
at  Boston. 

In  1653,  the  public  mind  having  become  impressed 
with  the  idea  that  a  plot  had  been  concerted  by  the  Dutch 
Governor  Stuy vesant  and  the  Indians,  for  the  destruction 
of  the  English  colonies,  Mr.  Leverett  was  appointed  one 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  ii.  81. 


JOHN    LEVERETT.  371 

of  the  commissioners  of  Massachusetts,  to  the  Dutch  gov- 
ernment of  New  York,  and  was  made  commander  of  the 
forces  contemplated  to  be  raised  in  case  of  war.  In  1654, 
he  had  a  military  command  under  General  Sedgwick,  in 
expelling  the  French  from  Penobscot,  an  enterprise  in 
which  they  succeeded  with  very  little  difficulty.* 

In  1655,  Mr.  Leverett  again  went  to  England,  and 
was  employed  in  the  public  service  there  for  some  time 
until  his  return  in  1662.  Immediately  after  his  return 
he  was  re-elected  to  the  assembly  of  the  colony,  and  was 
chosen  speaker  in  1663  and  in  1664.  He  went  with 
Lusher  and  Danforth,  in  1665,  to  Portsmouth  and  Dover, 
as  one  of  the  commissioners  to  enquire  into  the  distur- 
bances there,  which  had  been  created  by  a  faction  head- 
ed by  one  Abraham  Corbett,  inimical  to  the  government 
of  Massachusetts.  Corbett  was  in  the  end  arrested,  tak- 
en to  Boston,  and  fined  and  otherwise  punished  for  sedi- 
tious behavior,  f 

He  was  one  of  the  four  persons,  in  1664,  to  whom 
the  patent  or  first  charter  was  delivered  by  the  general 
court,  to  be  kept  safe  and  secret,  together  with  a  dupli- 
cate, which  they  were  directed  to  dispose  of  as  might 
be  most  safe  for  the  country.  Governor  Bellingham, 
Thomas  Clark,  and  Edward  Johnson  were  the  others. J 

In  1665,  Mr.  Leverett  was  chosen  an  Assistant,  and 
continued  in  that  office  until  1670.  In  1671  and  1672, 
he  was  elected  deputy  governor. 

At  the  election  in  1673,  he  was  chosen  governor  to 
succeed  Mr.  Bellingham,  and  was  annually  re-elected 
without  opposition  until  his  death,  in  1679. 

*  All  the  country  from  the  Penobscot  to  Port  Royal  was  conquered  with  very 
little  resistance.     Hutchinson's  Colony  Mass.  Bay,  183. 
t  Farmer's  Belknap,  60.     t  See  p.  341,  of  this  volume. 


372  JOHN    LEVERETT. 

As  has  already  been  stated,  the  authority  of  Massa- 
chusetts had  been  extended  over  the  settlements  in  Maine, 
and  Governor  Leverett  had  visited  that  territory  in  1652, 
and  several  times  afterwards,  to  arrange  the  terms  of  sub- 
mission.    The  inhabitants  in  some  cases   resisted   the 
claim  of  Massachusetts,  regarding  it  as  a  usurpation  ;.*  and 
to  put  an  end  to  the  troublesome  controversy,  the  gov- 
ernment of  Massachusetts,  in  1677,  purchased  of  Gorges 
the  province  of  Maine  for  the  sum  of  £1,250  sterling.f 
In  February,  1680,  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts 
assumed  the  charter  granted  to  Gorges,  under  their  right 
of  purchase,  and  proceeded  to  frame  a  civil  administra- 
tion for  the  province.     The  delay  of  nearly  three  years 
after  the  purchase  to  assume  the  patent  of  Gorges,  may 
be  accounted  for  from  the  disagreeing  opinions  as  to  the 
best  mode  of  governing  the  newly  acquired  territory,  and 
from  the  known  hostility  of  the  King  to  the  purchase  by 
Massachusetts.     Charles  II.  had  intended,  with  the  pro- 
vinces of  Maine  and  New  Hampshire,  to  make  provision 
for  his  son,  the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  and  had  been  for 
some  time  in  treaty  with  the  proprietor  of  Maine,  but 
was  outwitted  by  the  agents  of  Massachusetts.     He  was 
so  deeply  affronted  when  he  heard  of  the  transfer,  that 
he  reprimanded  the  agents  for  their  disloyal  interference, 
and  required  them  to  assign  their  purchase  to  the  crown, 
upon  payment  of  the  sum  they  had  given.     This  they 
refused  to  do,  and  Massachusetts,  with  the  usual  resolute 
steadfastness  which  actuated  her  people  whenever  the 
royal  prerogative  bore  hard  upon  them,  determined  to 
make  the  most  of  her  purchase. 

*  See  Folsom,  Hist.  Saco  and  Biddeford,  pp.  84—90. 
t  Hutchinson's  Hist.  Col.  Mass.  Bay,  312. 


JOHN    LEVERETT.  373 

In  1678,  Edward  Randolph,  who  had  been  appointed 
collector  of  Boston,  came  over,  bringing  a  commission, 
empowering  certain  persons  to  administer  an  oath  to  the 
governor  that  he  would  faithfully  execute  the  Royal 
Acts  of  Trade.  The  colony  were  determined  to  evade 
these  acts,  and  Governor  Leverett  refused  to  take  the 
oath  required.  The  people  considered  the  navigation 
acts  as  an  invasion  of  their  rights,  as  they  were  not  repre- 
sented in  parliament;  and  the  controversy  ended  only 
with  the  subversion  of  their  charter. 

Governor  Leverett  is  described  by  Cotton  Mather,  as 
"one  to  whom  the  affections  of  the  freemen  were  signal- 
ised his  quick  advances  through  the  lesser  stages  of 
honor  and  office,  unto  the  highest  in  the  country ;  and 
one  whose  courage  had  been  as  much  recommended  by 
martial  actions  abroad  in  his  younger  years,  as  his  wis- 
dom and  justice  were  now  at  home  in  his  elder."* 

He  received  the  order  of  knighthood  from  Charles  II. 
in  1676  ;  but  he  suppressed  the  title,  or  knowledge  of  it, 
during  his  life,  probably  on  account  of  his  republican 
employments,  and  the  genius  of  the  colonial  government. 
He  was  in  England  at  the  time  of  the  restoration,  attend- 
ing to  the  interests  of  the  colony,  which  brought  the 
King  acquainted  with  his  talents  and  influence,  and  led 
to  the  bestowal  of  subsequent  honors. 

"The  Governor  under  the  old  charter,"  says  Hutch- 
inson, "  although  he  carried  great  port,  yet  his  share  in 
the  administration  was  little  more  than  any  one  of  the 
Assistants.  The  weighty  affairs  of  the  war,  and  the 
agency,  during  his  administration,  conducted  with  pru- 
dence and  steadiness,  caused  him  to  be  greatly  respect- 

*  Magnalia,  b.  2.  c.  5. 


374  JOHN    LEVERETT. 

ed."*  "  Great  military  talents/'  says  Savage,  "fitted  him 
for  the  place  of  sergeant-major-generalf  several  years, 
and  in  the  higher  station  of  governor,  in  the  most  peril- 
ous period  Massachusetts  ever  knew,  Philip's  war,  they 
were  fully  exerted."  In  this  great  struggle,  Massachu- 
setts furnished  her  full  proportion  of  men  and  means; 
and  many  of  her  bravest  sons  fell,  before  the  Indians  were 
conquered.  The  command  of  the  forces  raised  by  the 
United  Colonies  devolved  upon  General  Winslow,  the 
governor  of  New  Plymouth,  and  a  summary  of  the  events 
of  that  sanguinary  war  will  be  found  in  the  memoir  of 
Josias  Winslow. | 

Governor  Leverett  died  on  16th  March,  1679.  His 
funeral  was  made  a  pageant,  not  unlike  that  of  royalty  in 
England.  § 

The  disease  of  which  Governor  Leverett  died  was 
the  gravel,  as  appears  by  Mather,  and  also  an  interleaved 

*  The  general  court  of  Massachusetts,  7th  May,  1662,  "  Ordered,  that  Ma- 
jor General  John  Leverett  have  granted  to  him  500  acres  of  hand,  referring  to 
his  services  in  the  country,  both  in  England  and  here ;  which  500  acres  shall 
be  laid  out  to  him  together,  with  500  more,  formerly  granted  to  him  in  refer- 
ence to  his  father's  adventure  of  the  sum  of  £50  put  into  the  public  stock,  in 
consideration  whereof,  Brewster's  Islands  were  formerly  granted  to  the  said 
Major  John  Leverett,  but  since  adjudged  by  this  court  to  belong  to  the  town  of 
Hull,  whereupon  the  court  granted  the  500  acres  last  mentioned."  Mass.  Col. 
Records. 

i  The  first  regular  organization  of  militia  in  the  country,  was  in  1644,  when 
great  exertions  were  made  to  render  the  militia  efficient,  and  the  emulation  of 
the  people  was  excited  to  provide  for  emergencies  that  might  happen.  All  males 
were  enrolled  at  sixteen— none  being  exempt,  except"  timorous  persons"  and 
there  were  but  few  who  would  permit  themselves  to  be  thus  classed.  The  sol- 
diers were  required  to  do  duty  eight  days  in  a  year  under  a  penalty  of  5s.  a 
day— and  a  day's  duty  was  the  whole  day  spent  in  laborious  drill,  not  a  few 
hours  of  showy  parade.  The  general  court  labored  to  avoid  all  high  titles, 
and  therefore  ordered  one  general  officer  for  the  colony,  whose  title  was  Ser- 
geant Major  General,  to  be  chosen  annually. 

$  See  pp.  179—192,  of  this  volume. 

§  See  Whitman's  Hist.  Anc.  and  Hon.  Art.,  p.  95. 


JOHN    LEVERETT.  375 

Almanack  of  1679.  His  picture,  in  the  military  costume 
of  that  day,  his  sword,  collar,  and  gloves,  &c,  are  pre- 
served in  the  Essex  Historical  Rooms,  at  Salem.  He 
wore  long  hair,  but  is  the  first  colonial  governor  painted 
without  a  long  beard.  He  is  said  to  have  laid  it  aside  in 
Cromwell's  court. 

Governor  Leverett  was  married,  in  1639,  to  Hannah 
Hudson,  daughter  of  Ralph  Hudson,  deceased,  who  by 
his  will  had  bequeathed  to  this  daughter  "<£100  upon 
her  marriage,  and  after  his  and  his  wife's  decease,  his 
new  house  in  Boston  with  the  yard  adjoining,  which  then 
stood  close  to  the  market,  on  the  south  of  the  old  Town 
House,  and  also  his  great  lot  of  forty-six  acres  at  Pullen 
Point."  To  match  this  respectable  endowment,  Elder 
Leverett  at  the  same  time  settled  upon  his  son  various 
tracts  of  land  and  other  property,  and  upon  the  decease 
of  himself  and  wife,  "his  dwelling  house  in  Boston,  with 
the  houses  and  gardens  adjoining,  and  a  hundred  acres 
of  land  at  Muddy  River." 

The  time  of  the  death  of  the  first  wife  of  Governor 
Leverett  is  uncertain.  The  death  of  his  second  wife? 
Sarah,  who  survived  him  twenty-five  years,  is  mentioned 
as  having  occurred  at  Boston,  2d  January,  1705,  when 
she  was  at  the  age  of  74.  Mary,  daughter  of  Governor 
Leverett,  married  Paul  Dudley,  son  of  the  first  Governor 
Dudley.     He  died  in  1681,  at  the  age  of  31. 

Hudson  Leverett,  only  son  of  Governor  Leverett,  was 
born  in  1640.  Hutchinson  says,  he  did  not  support  the 
reputation  of  his  father  ;  but  John  Leverett,  his  son,  in 
the  presidency  of  Harvard  College,  gave  a  character  to 
that  institution  which  it  had  never  before  attained.*    He 

*  Savage's  Winthrop,  ii.  245. 


376  JOHN    LEVERETT. 

■  graduated  in  1680,  was  afterwards  a  tutor,  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  legislature,  speaker  of  the  assembly,  counsellor, 
judge  of  the  superior  court,  and  of  the  court  of  probate. 
He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Brattle  street  church  in 
Boston.  In  1708,  he  was  chosen  President  of  Harvard 
College,  in  which  station  he  continued  until  his  death, 
which  was  sudden,  3d  May,  1724.  He  was  endowed 
with  great  powers  of  mind,  and  was  conspicuous  for  his 
learning.  His  talents  were  eminently  practical.  He 
knew  better  than  most  men  what  course  to  shape  in  diffi- 
cult times,  and  how  political  and  religious  factions  were 
to  be  managed  or  controlled.  To  these  characteristics 
the  College  owed  much  of  the  prosperity  it  enjoyed  at 
that  period ;  and  these  conferred  the  reputation  for  suc- 
cess, which  has  ever  since  rested  upon  his  administration. 
In  all  his  official  relations,  his  industry,  vigor,  and  fideli- 
ty were  conspicuous  and  exemplary.  Flynt's  Funeral 
Oration  ascribes  to  him  Aristotle's  words  to  Plato — uHic 
jacet  homo,  quern  non  licet,  non  decet,  impiis  vel  ignoran- 
tibus  laudare"  His  literary  merits  procured  him  honors 
from  abroad,  particularly  a  membership  in  the  Royal  So- 
ciety of  London.* 

*  Quincy's  Hist,  of  Harvard  JJniversity,  i.  323.     Whitman's  Hist.  Arte,  and 
Hon.  Art.  Co.  249. 


II 


VIII.     SIMON   BRADSTREET. 

Simon  Bradstreet  was  a  native  of  Horbling,  A 
small  village  near  Folkingham,  in  Lincolnshire,  England,, 
where  he  was  born  in  March,  1603.  His  father,  born 
of  a  wealthy  family  in  Suffolk,  was  one  of  the  first  fel- 
lows of  Emanuel  College,  and  highly  esteemed  by  per- 
sons distinguished  for  learning.  In  the  year  1603,  he 
appears  to  have  been  minister  at  Horbling,  in  Lincoln- 
shire, but  was  always  a  nonconformist  to  the  church  of 
England.  He  was  afterwards  preacher  to  the  English 
congregation  at  Middleburg,  where  he  was  most  proba- 
bly driven  by  the  severity  of  persecution.  He  was  liv- 
ing about  the  year  1630.  The  first  planters  of  New 
England  had-  the  highest  respect  for  him,  and  used  to 
style  him    "  The  venerable  Mordecai  of  his  country."* 

The  son  was  entered  at  the  grammar  school,  where, 
after  spending  some  time,  he  was  taken  into  the  family 
of  the  Earl  of  Lincoln,  in  which  he  remained  about  eight 
years,  under  the  direction  of  Thomas  Dudley,  holding 
several  offices  at  different  periods  in  the  household  of 
the  Earl.  His  capacity,  and  the  desire  which  his  father 
expressed  to  give  his  son  an  education,  induced  Dr. 
Preston,  an  intimate  friend  of  the  elder  Bradstreet,  to 
interest  himself  in  behalf  of  the  son.  He  was  thereupon 
entered  at  Emanuel  College,  Cambridge,  in  the  capacity 
of  governor  to  the  young  Lord  Rich,  son  of  the  Earl  of 
Warwick.  This  young  nobleman,  however,  did  not 
come  to  the  university  ;  and  a  brother  of  the  Earl  of 

*  Brooke's  Lives  of  the  PuritanSj  tii.  519. 

48 


378  SIMON    BRADSTREET. 

Lincoln,  of  rather  idle  and  dissipated  habits,  being  then 
in  college,  and  claiming  too  much  of  the  time  and  atten- 
tion of  Bradstreet,  he  left  the  institution  after  about  a 
year,  and  returned  to  the  Earl  of  Lincoln.     Mr.  Dudley 
being  about  to  remove  to  New  England,  his  post  of  stew- 
ard in  the  household  of  the  Earl  was  conferred  on  Brad- 
street.     He  was  afterwards  steward  to  the  aged  Coun- 
tess of  Warwick,  and  here  became  acquainted  with  Anne, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Dudley,  whom  he  married,  in  1628. 
This  connection  induced  him  to  join  the   company  of 
Winthrop,   Dudley,  Saltonstall,   Endecott,   and    others, 
who  were  then  about  to  embark  for  New  England.     In 
March,   1630,  he  became  associated  with  the  company 
of  colonists  ;  and,  embarking  with  his  family,  arrived  at 
Salem  in  June  following.     He  was  at  the  first  court  held 
at  Charlestown,  23d  August,  1630,  and  was  there  elected 
secretary  of  the  colony,  and    remained  in  office  until 
1644.     He  is  named  as  the  seventh  member  who  joined* 
in  forming  the  first  congregational  church  of  Charles- 
town  and  Boston. 

In  the  spring  of  1631,  Mr.  Bradstreet  removed  to 
Cambridge,  and  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  that 
town.  He  resided,  with  Dudley,  Saltonstall,  and  others, 
for  a  time,  at  Ipswich,  between  1635  and  1644,  and  af- 
terwards removed  to  Andover,  where  he  became  one  of 
the  first  planters  of  that  town,  in  1648. 

Among  those  who  were  banished  from  Massachu- 
setts, on  account  of  their  antinomian  principles,  was  Cap- 
tain John  Underhill,  who  settled  at  Dover,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and,  on  the  expulsion  of  Burdet,  was  chosen 
"governor"  of  that  town.  He  was  himself  an  enthu- 
siast of  bad  character,  and  introduced  Hanserd  Knollys, 


SIMON    BRADSTREET.  379 

an  Antinomian  Baptist,  to  the  ministry  there.  Knollys 
busied  himself  in  calumniating  the  Massachusetts  settlers, 
and  soon  raised  up  a  strong  party  in  opposition.  Thomas 
Larkham,  a  zealous  churchman,  from  England,  headed 
this  new  party.  One  party  dealt  out  bulls  and  excom- 
munications;  and  the  other  imposed  fines  and  penalties; 
until  the  little  settlement  became  a  theatre  of  riots,  as- 
saults and  general  disorder.  The  government  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, which  had  always  had  an  eye  upon  the  east- 
ern settlements,  now  thought  it  time  to  interfere ;  and 
Mr.  Bradstreet,  Hugh  Peters,  and  Samuel  Dalton,  were 
appointed  commissioners  to  inquire  into  the  difficulties 
at  Dover,  and  attempt  a  reconciliation.  These  peace 
makers  travelled  from  Boston  to  Dover  on  foot,  and  hav- 
ing ascertained  that  both  parties  were  in  fault,  .succeeded 
in  adjusting  the  feud,  by  persuading  one  party  to  remit 
its  fines  and  penalties,  and  the  other  to  annul  its  cen- 
sures and  excommunications.* 

When,  in  the  year  1643,  the  New  England  Colonies 
formed  their  memorable  confederation,  or  union  for  mu- 
tual protection  and  defence,  Mr.  Bradstreet  was  one  of 
the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  Massachusetts  colo- 
ny, and  took  an  active  part  in  the  proceedings.!  The 
records  of  that  period,  in  all  the  public  affairs  of  the  col- 
ony, show  how  diligent  and  useful  he  was  as  a  public 
officer,  through  all  the  changes  of  the  infant  common- 

*  See  Farmer's  Belknap,  23-26,  and  Farmer  and  Moore's  Collections,  ii.  236. 

t  Governor  Winthrop,  in  noticing  the  selection  made  by  the  deputies  for 
this  important  service,  calls  "  the  choosing  one  of  the  younger  magistrates 
(Bradstreet)  a  great  error,"  although  he  pronounces  him  to  be  "  a  very  able 
man."  The  reason  probably  was,  that  Mr.  Bradstreet  was  "an  eastern  man," 
being  at  that  time  a  resident  of  Ipswich ;  for  he  was  one  of  the  original  assistants, 
and  had  been  fourteen  times  re-elected  to  that  office,  although  he  was  now  but 
forty  years  of  age. 


380  SIMON    BRADSTREET. 

wealth.  As  one  of  the  most  active  magistrates,  he  was 
noted  as  rarely  ever  absent  from  his  post;  and  in  his  capa- 
city of  secretary  of  the  colony,  his  papers  bore  the  marks 
of  a  clerkly  hand,  and  of  a  mind  so  well  trained  in  matters 
of  law,  and  legislation,  that  he  is  spoken  of  by  the  editor 
of  Winthrop,  as  having  been  "bred  to  the  bar." 

Mr.  Bradstreet,  although  a  strict  Puritan  in  faith, 
and  as  decidedly  opposed  "  to  all  heresy  and  schism,"  as 
his  austere  relative  Dudley,  was  endowed  with  a  differ- 
ent temper  ;  and  for  the  sake  of  peace,  or  with  the  hope 
of  reformation,  could  more  readily  excuse  an  offender. 
He  seems  to  have  been  imbued  with  a  spirit  more  gen- 
tle, and  to  have  been  influenced  by  a  better  idea  of  reli- 
gious freedom,  than  some  of  his  associates  in  the  colony. 
While  the  Antinomian  controversy  was  pending,  he 
seems  to  have  been  inclined  to  more  moderate  measures 
than  the  exasperated  magistrates  and  elders.  When 
Anne  Hutchinson  was  arraigned,  before  Governor  Win- 
throp, and  during  two  days,  in  presence  of  the  whole 
authority  in  church  and  state  united,  maintained  her 
ground  with  a  self-possession  and  ability  that  came  near 
carrying  some  of  the  judges  in  her  favour,  as  her  argu- 
ments already  had  convinced  a  majority  of  the  Boston 
church, — Mr.  Bradstreet  was  for  persuasion  rather  than 
force.  He  remarked  to  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  that  she  ought 
to  forbear  her  meetings,  because  they  gave  offence;  and 
when  she  interposed  a  plea  of  conscience,  he  replied  that 
he  was  not  against  all  women's  meetings,  and  even  con- 
sidered them  to  be  lawful,  but  still  thought  they  should 
be  avoided,  as  matters  disturbing  the  public  peace.* 

*  See  Account  of  the  Trial  of  Anne  Hutchinson,  in  Appendix  to  Hutchin- 
son, vol.  ii. 


SIMON    BRADSTREET.  381 

The  rigorous  discipline  which  the  churches  and  mag- 
istrates enforced  at  this  period,  caused  many  to  be  pub- 
licly arraigned  and  punished,  for  offences,  which  would 
at  this  day  be  deemed  trivial  and  insignificant.  To 
speak  evil  of  rulers,  was  an  offence,  and  there  were  nu- 
merous instances  in  which  this  breach  of  order  was  pun- 
ished with  severity.  Mr.  Bradstreet,  on  occasions  of  this 
description,  frequently  took  ground  in  favor  of  freedom 
of  speech,  and  voted,  in  opposition  to  the  majority  of 
magistrates,  against  presentments  and  fines  "for  words 
spoken  in  contempt  of  government." 

In  the  same  spirit,  which  was  in  advance'  of  the  age, 
when  the  witchcraft  delusion  overspread  the  colony,  he 
discountenanced  the  excesses  into  which  the  government 
was  betrayed.  Brattle,  in  his  account  of  this  delusion, 
makes  honorable  mention  of  "  the  few  men  of  understand- 
ing, judgment  and  piety,  inferior  to  few  if  any  in  New 
England,  that  do  utterly  condemn  the  proceedings,  and 
do  freely  deliver  their  judgment  that  these  methods  will 
utterly  ruin  and  undo  poor  New  England."  Among  the 
first  of  these  he  names  Mr.  Bradstreet.* 

In  1650,  Mr.  Bradstreet  was  one  of  the  commission- 
ers assembled  at  Hartford,  to  determine  the  long  contro- 
verted boundary  line  between  the  Dutch  Colony  of  New 
Amsterdam,  (New  York,)  and  the  English  Colony  of 
New  Haven. 

The  settlements  which  had  been  made  at  York  and 
Kittery,  in  Maine,  under  grants  from  Gorges,  early  at- 
tracted the  notice  of  the  government  of  Massachusetts. 
They  claimed  the  territory  on  the  Pascataqua,  as  contain- 
ed within  the  bounds  of  their  charter.     In    1651;  avail- 

*  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  v.  75. 


382  SIMON    BRADSTREET. 

ing  themselves  of  the  advantages  presented  by  the  dis- 
sensions among  the  people  of  those  settlements,  the  gov- 
ernment of  Massachusetts  appointed  Mr.  Bradstreet  one 
of  the  commissioners  to  treat  with  the  disaffected  at 
York  and  Kittery,  about  coming  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
Massachusetts.  In  the  following  year,  matters  had  been 
so  far  matured,  that  on  Mr.  Bradstreet's  again  appearing 
at  Kittery,  and  summoning  the  inhabitants  to  come  in 
and  acknowledge  their  subjection  to  Massachusetts,  they 
resolved  to  surrender,  and  signed  an  instrument  of  sub- 
mission, which  was  soon  after  followed  by  a  similar 
submission  of  the  people  of  York,  Saco,  Wells,  &,c. 

In  June,  1654,  we  find  Mr.  Bradstreet  active  in  a 
meeting  at  Ipswich,  on  the  subject  of  preparing  a  refuta- 
tion of  certain  calumnies,  which  had  been  forwarded  to 
the  Protector  Cromwell,  against  the  general  court  of 
Massachusetts. 

It  was  some  months  after  the  restoration  of  Charles 
II.  became  known,  before  he  was  proclaimed  in  Massa- 
chusetts; although  a  loyal  address  was  voted  and  for- 
warded, in  December,  1660.  The  colonists  were  alarmed 
as  to  the  consequences  of  the  great  revolutions  in  the 
parent  state;  and  sinister  reports  of  evil  for  a  time  kept 
the  people  in  a  state  of  feverish  anxiety.  In  May,  1661, 
the  state  of  public  affairs  was  brought  before  the  general 
court,  Mr.  Bradstreet  was  placed  at  the  head  of  a  com- 
mittee "  to  consider  and  debate  such  matters  touch- 
ing their  patent  rights,  and  privileges,  and  duty  to  his 
Majesty,  as  should  to  them  seem  proper."  This  com- 
mittee, after  grave  deliberation,  embodied  their  report 
in  an  able  state  paper,  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Bradstreet,  and 
adopted  by  the  general  court  in  special  session,  10th 


SIMON    BRADSTREET.  383 

June,  1661.  This  report  declares  in  emphatic  terms  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  the  colony,  under  the  charter,  fol- 
lowed by  a  declaration  of  allegiance,  loyalty  and  duty  to 
the  king. 

The  Massachusetts  address  to  the  King  met  a  favor- 
able reception,  notwithstanding  strong  representations 
had  been  forwarded  against  the  colony,  growing  out  of 
the  persecutions  of  the  Quakers,  and  other  rigorous 
measures.  The  royal  mandamus  soon  after  put  an  end 
to  this  persecution;  and  Massachusetts  was  summoned 
to  answer  complaints  made  against  the  government  of 
the  colony.  In  this  emergency,  Mr.  Bradstreet  and  Mr. 
Norton  were  despatched  to  England.  They  met  with 
a  favorable  reception  at  court,  and  in  answer  to  the 
address  and  petition  of  Massachusetts,  they  were  intrus- 
ted with  a  letter  from  the  King,  which  promised  a  full 
pardon  of  political  offences,  and  a  confirmation  of  the 
ancient  privileges  of  the  colony,  but  coupled  with  such 
conditions  as  created  at  once,  in  the  midst  of  the  general 
rejoicing  at  the  prospect  of  peace,  a  deep  gloom  through- 
out the  colony.  The  requisitions  of  the  King,  in  this 
instance,  were  in  the  highest  degree  tolerant  and  enlight- 
ened, far  beyond  the  scope  of  most  of  the  acts  of  his 
reign.  Bradstreet  and  Norton  understood  the  matter  in 
this  light,  and  so  it  was  considered  by  the  best  friends  of 
the  colony  in  England.  But  the  general  court  looked 
upon  the  King's  letter  as  requiring  a  surrender  of  their 
rights,  which  they  determined  not  hastily  to  assent  to„ 
The  agents,  who  were  supposed  to  have  made  unneces- 
sary concessions,  were  now  loaded  with  reproaches,  and 
evils  which  it  could  not  have  been  in  their  power  to  avert, 
were  laid  to  their  charge.     Mr.  Norton,  a  faithful  and 


384  SIMON    BRADSTREET. 

honest  man,  who  went  reluctantly  upon  the  embassy ; 
could  not  bear  up  under  the  general  reproach;  but  Mr. 
Bradstreet,  conscious  that  he  had  in  no  way  compromit- 
ted  the  honor  or  rights  of  the  colony,  steadily  defended 
his  course,  and  advocated  a  dutiful  compliance  with  the 
requisitions  of  the  King,  as  the  best  and  only  safe  course. 
When  the  royal  commissioners  arrived  in  1665,  Mr. 
Bradstreet  was  one  of  the  few  who  counselled  a  quiet 
compliance,  and  protested  against  the  declaration  of  the 
general  court  drawn  up  in  answer  to  the  demands  of  the 
commissioners.  The  sturdy  democracy  of  the  Puritans, 
however,  forbade  their  yielding  an  iota  of  what  they 
conceived  to  be  their  chartered  privileges;  and  they  not 
only  denounced  the  proceedings  of  the  commissioners, 
but  prohibited  any  one  from  abetting  or  aiding  them. 
If  the  course  advised  by  Mr.  Bradstreet  might  have  been 
under  the  circumstances,  the  more  prudent  and  politic, 
that  adopted  by  the  colony  was  in  fact  more  noble,  and 
better  becoming  a  community  of  freemen. 

In  1673,  Mr.  Bradstreet  was  chosen  deputy  governor, 
and  continued  in  that  office  under  repeated  elections,  until 
the  death  of  Governor  Leverett,  in  1679.  In  May  of 
that  year,  he  was  first  chosen  governor,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-six  years,  having  previously  been  chosen  an  as- 
sistant for  fifty  years  in  succession.  He  was  annually  re- 
elected governor,  until  May,  1686,  when  the  charter  was 
dissolved,  and  Dudley  commenced  his  administration  as 
president  of  New  England.  Dudley's  commission  from 
James  II.  bore  date  the  8th  October,  1685,  and  Mr. 
Bradstreet  was  the  first  of  the  seventeen  counsellors 
named  in  the  commission.  The  new  president,  on  re- 
ceiving his  commission,  waited  upon  Mr.  Bradstreet  at 


SIMON    BRADSTREET.  385 

his  house,  the  14th  May,  1686;  but  Mr.  Bradstreet  de- 
clined accepting  the  appointment,  as  did  his  son,  Dudley 
Bradstreet,  also  named  as  counsellor.* 

The  tyranny  of  Andros,  which  followed  the  short 
rule  of  Dudley,  bringing  with  it  the  most  gloomy  fore- 
bodings as  to  the  future,  nerved  the  arms  of  the  people 
and  knit  their  hearts  in  unison  for  ultimate  resistance. 
The  venerable  Bradstreet,  though  verging  upon  ninety 
years  of  age,  was  consulted  by  the  people,  and  gave  his 
advice  as  the  Nestor  of  New  England,  In  a  letter 
which  Hutchinson  has  preserved,  on  the  subject  of  the 
arbitrary  seizure  of  lands,  and  contempt  of  title  deeds, 
by  Andros,  Governor  Bradstreet  states  with  admirable 
clearness  his  opinion  of  the  case.f 

When  the  people  of  Boston,  on  the  18th  of  April, 
1689,  rose  in  arms,  and  the  inhabitants  from  the  sur- 
rounding country  flocked  in  to  the  assistance  of  their 
brethren  of  the  capital,  Mr.  Bradstreet  and  fourteen  of 
the  magistrates  of  1686,  addressed  a  message  to  Andros., 
in  the  name  of  the  people,  demanding  of  him,  an  im- 
mediate surrender  of  the  government  and  fortifications.J 

*  Hutchinson's  Hist.  Colony  of  Mass.  Bay,  351. 

t  Hutchinson's  Colony  of  Mass.  Bay,  360,  361. 

t  The  following  is  the  message  referred  to,  which  is  copied  from  the  origi- 
nal handbill,  printed  in  black  letter  by  Green,  in  1689,  in  possession  of  Col. 
Peter  Force,  of  Washington,  D.  C. 

"At  the  Town  House  in  Boston:  April  18th,  1689. 
"Sir, — Ourselves  as  well  as  many  others  the  Inhabitants  of  this  town  and 
places  adjacent,  being  surprised  with  the  People's  sudden  taking  to  Arms,  in  the 
first  motion  whereof  we  were  wholly  ignorant,  are  driven  by  the  present  Exi- 
gence and  Necessity  to  acquaint  your  Excellency,  that  for  the  Quieting  and 
Security  of  the  People  inhabiting  this  Countrey  from  the  imminent  Dangers 
they  many  wayes  lie  open  and  are  exposed  unto,  and  for  your  own  Safety  ;  We 
judge  it  necessary  that  you  forthwith  Surrender,  and  Deliver  up  the  Govern- 
ment and  Fortifications  to  be  preserved,  to  be  Disposed  according  to  Order  and 

49 


386  SIMON    BRADSTREET. 

The  governor  with  his  council  resisted,  and  withdrew  to 
the  fort.     "  Just  then,  (says  Bancroft,)  the  last  governor 
of  the  colony,  in  office  when  the  charter  was  abrogated, 
Simon  Bradstreet,  glorious  with  the  dignity  of  fourscore 
years  and  seven,  one  of  the  early  emigrants,  a  magistrate 
in  1630,  whose  experience  connected  the  oldest  genera- 
tion with  the  new,  drew  near  the  town-house,  and  was 
received  by  a  great  shout  from  the  freemen.     The  old 
magistrates  were  reinstated,  as  a  council  of  safety ;  the 
whole  town  rose  in  arms,  c  with  the  most  unanimous  re- 
solution that  ever  inspired  a  people;'  and  a  declaration, 
read  from  the  balcony,  defended  the  insurrection,  as  a 
duty  to  God  and  the  country.     (  We  commit  our  enter- 
prise,' it  is  added,  c  to  Him  who  hears  the  cry  of  the  op- 
pressed, and  advise  all  our  neighbors,  for  whom  we  have 
thus  ventured  ourselves,  to  joyn  with  us  in  prayers  and 
all  just  actions  for  the  defence  of  the  land.'     On  Charles- 
town  side,  a  thousand  soldiers  crowded  together;  and 
the  multitude  would  have  been  larger  if  needed.     The 
governor,  vainly  attempting  to  escape  to  the  frigate,  was, 
with  his  creatures,  compelled  to  seek  protection  by  sub- 
Direction  from  the  Crown  of  England,  which  is  suddenly  expected  may  arrive, 
Promising  all  Security  from  violence  to  your  Self,  or  any  other  of  yonr  Gen- 
tlemen and  Souldiers  in  Person  or  Estate :  or  else  we  are  assured  they  will 
endeavor  the  taking  of  the  Fortifications  by  Storm,  if  any  opposition  be  made. 

"  To  Sr.  Edmond  Andross,  Knight. 
William  Stonghton,  Simon  Bradstreet,  Wait  Winthrop, 

Thomas  Danforth,  John  Richards,  Samuel  Shrimptony 

Elisha  Cook,  William  Brown, 

Isaac  Addington,  Barthol.  Gedney, 

John  Foster, 
Peter  Sergeant, 
David  Waterhouse, 
Adam  Winthrop, 
John  Nelson. 
"  Boston.     Printed  by  Samuel  Green,  1689." 


SIMON    BRADSTREET.  387 

mission ;  through  the  streets  where  he  had  first  displayed 
his  scarlet  coat  and  arbitrary  commission,  he  and  his 
fellows  were  marched  to  the  town-house,  and  thence  to 
prison.  All  the  cry  was  against  Andros  and  Randolph. 
The  castle  was  taken;  the  frigate  was  mastered;  the 
fortifications  occupied."  The  people  voted  to  re-assume 
the  old  charter ;  representatives  were  chosen ;  and  Mas- 
sachusetts again  assembled  in  general  court,  calling  Brad- 
street  to  the  chair  of  state.* 

Mr.  Bradstreet  was  annually  re-elected  Governor  of 
Massachusetts,  and  of  New  Hampshire,  under  the  union 
of  those  provinces,  until  the  arrival  of  Sir  William 
Phips,  in  May,  1692,  with  a  charter,  which  deprived 
the  people  of  the  right  of  choosing  their  chief  magis- 
trate. In  this  charter  he  was  named  as  senior  counsel- 
lor. But  the  venerable  old  man,  after  more  than  half 
a  century  of  public  service,  now  retired  from  office,  and 
closed  his  eventful  career  at  Salem,  on  the  27th  March, 
1697,  in  the  95th  year  of  his  age.  His  great  age  is  at- 
tributed by  Mather  to  his  temperate  habits  of  life.  The 
inscription  upon  his  tomb,  in  the  ancient  burial  place  at 
Salem,  is  as  follows : 

SIMON    BRADSTREET, 

ArmWer,  ex  online  Senatoris,  in  colonia  Massachusettensi  ab  anno  1630,  usque  ad  annum  1673. 
Deinde  ad  annum  1679,  Vice-Gubemator.  Denique  ad  annum  1686,  ejusdem  colonis,  communi 
et  constant!  populi  suffragio,  Gubernator.  Vir,  judicio  Lynceario  preditus  :  quem  nee  numma, 
nee  honos  allexit.  Regis  authoritatem,  et  populi  libertatem,  requa  lance  libravit.  Religione 
ceidatus,  vita  innocuus,  mundum  et  vicit,  et  deseruit,  27  die  Martii,  A.  D.  1697.  Annoq. 
Guliel.  3t  ix.  et  JEt.  94. 

His  epitaph,  says  Felt,  gives  a  correct  idea  of  his 
character: — "He  was  a  man  of  deep  discernment,  whom 
neither  wealth  nor  honor  could  allure  from  duty.  He 
poised  with  an  equal  balance,  the  authority  of  the  King, 

*  Hutchinson,  373—382.     Rancroft,  ii.  447. 


388  SIMON    BRADSTREET. 

and  the  liberty  of  the  people.  Sincere  in  Religion,  and 
pure  in  his  life,  he  overcame  and  left  the  world."  The 
assembly  of  the  province  being  in  session  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  "in  consideration  of  the  long  and  extraordi- 
nary service  of  Simon  Bradstreet,  late  Governor,  who  is 
now  deceased,  voted  £100  towards  defraying  the  charges 
of  his  interment." 

The  first  wife  of  Governor  Bradstreet,  as  has  already 
been  stated,  was  Anne,  daughter  of  Governor  Thomas 
Dudley,  whom  he  married  in  England.  She  died  16th 
September,  1672,  at  the  age  of  60  years.  "She  is," 
says  Savage,  "  the  most  distinguished  of  the  early  ma- 
trons of  our  land  by  her  literary  powers."  A  volume  of 
her  poems  was  published  in  1678.  It  was  dedicated  to 
her  father,  in  a  copy  of  verses,  dated  20  March,  1642, 
and  is  probably  the  earliest  poetic  volume  written  in 
America.* 

There  is  also  in  possession  of  one  of  her  descendants, 
a  manuscript  volume,  in  the  hand-writing  of  Mrs.  Brad- 
street,  dedicated  to  her  "  Dear  Son  Simon  Bradstreet," 
and  containing  seventy  seven  "  Meditations,  Divine  and 
Moral,"  which  she  intended  to  continue  through  the 
volume,  as  we  are  told  in  a  note  written  by  her  son, 
"but  was  prevented  by  death."  Extracts  from  these 
Meditations  are  given  in  the  History  of  the  First  Church 
of  Charlestown,  Massachusetts.! 

After  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  Governor  Bradstreet, 
in  16S0,  married  Ann,  widow  of  Capt.  Joseph  Gardner, 
who  was  killed  in  the  memorable  Narragansett  fight,  19 
Dec.  1 675.     This  lady  was  a  daughter  of  Emanuel  Dow- 

*  See  page  295,  ante. 

t  By  Rev.  William  I.  Budington,  published  in  1845. 


SIMON    BRADSTREET.  389 

ning,  distinguished  for  her  talents  and  accomplishments. 
She  died  19  April,  1713,  aged  79. 

Governor  Bradstreet's  children  were,  four  sons  and 
four  daughters,  viz. 

Samuel,  who  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in 
1653,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  fellows,  was  admitted 
freeman,  1653,  was  representative  for  Andover,  in  1670, 
and  died  before  1683. 

Simon,  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1667.  was 
ordained  as  minister  of  New  London,  Connecticut,  5 
Oct.,  1670,  and  died  in  1688. 

Dudley,  who  was  born  1648,  was  representative  for 
Andover,  in  1677  and  1692,  was  colonel  of  militia,  and 
one  of  the  Council  of  Safety,  appointed  in  1689. 

John,  born  31  July,  1652,  and  settled  at  Salem. 

Ann,  who  in  1659,  married  Thomas  Wiggin,  of  Exe- 
ter, New  Hampshire. 

Dorothy,  who  married  Rev.  Seaborn  Cotton  of 
Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  and  died  26  Feb.,  1671. 

Hannah,  who  married  a  Wiggin  ;  and  Mercy,  who  in 
1672,  married  Nathaniel  Wade  of  Medford. 

The  Rev.  Simon  Bradstreet,  son  of  the  minister  of 
New  London,  and  grandson  of  Gov.  Bradstreet,  was 
graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1693,  and  settled  at 
Charlestown,  26  October,  1698.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
learning,  and  lively  imagination ;  but  in  the  latter  part  of 
his  life,  became  so  hypochondriacal,  that  he  was  afraid  to 
preach  in  the  pulpit,  lest  he  should  die  there,  and  for 
some  time  delivered  his  sermons  from  the  deacon's  seat.* 

*  The  anecdote  is  told  of  him,  that  when  Lieut.  Gov.  Tailer  introduced  him 
to  Gov.  Burnet,  who  was  himself  a  scholar,  he  said  "  Here  is  a  man,  sir,  wh© 
can  whistle  Greek." 


390 


IX.     JOSEPH   DUDLEY. 


Joseph  Dudley,  son  of  Governor  Thomas  Dudley, 
was  born  on  the  23d  of  July,  1647,  at  Roxbury,  Massa- 
chusetts. He  was  the  son  of  the  Governor's  old  age, 
being  born  after  his  father  had  attained  the  age  of  sev- 
enty years.  During  his  childhood,  he  was  under  the 
care  of  his  excellent  mother,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Allin  of 
Dedham,  to  whom  she  was  married  after  the  death  of 
Gov.  Dudley.  He  was  educated  at  the  free  school  in 
Cambridge,  under  the  famous  Master  Corlet,  and  at 
Harvard  College,  where  he  graduated  in  1665,  in  the 
18th  year  of  his  age.  Hutchinson  says,  "he  was  edu- 
cated for  the  ministry,  and  if  various  dignities  had  been 
known  in  the  New  England  churches,  possibly  he  had 
lived  and  died  a  clergyman;  but  without  this,  nothing 
could  be  more  dissonant  from  his  genius.  He  soon 
turned  his  thoughts  to  civil  affairs.  Ambition  was  the 
ruling  passion,  and  perhaps,  like  Caesar,  he  had  rather 
be  the  first  man  in  New  England,  than  second  in  Old." 

He  was  admitted  a  freeman  in  1672,  and  in  1673  he 
was  first  chosen  a  representative  from  his  native  town, 
Roxbury,  and  was  re-elected  for  the  two  following  years. 
In  1676,  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  assistants,^  which 
office  he  continued,  (with  the  exception  of  one  year,) 
until  1685,  when  he  was  appointed  President  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  New  Hampshire. 

When  the  great  Indian  war  broke  out  in  1675,  Dud- 
ley was  appointed  one  of  the  commissioners  of  Massa- 
chusetts, who,  accompanying  the  military  forces  of  the 


JOSEPH    DUDLEY.  391 

colony  into  the  country  of  the  Narragansetts,  were  ena- 
bled to  dictate  the  terms  of  a  treaty,  with  the  chiefs  of 
that  tribe,  by  which  they  bound  themselves  to  aid  the 
English  in  the  war  against  Philip.*  Mr.  Dudley  was 
present  at  the  great  battle  with  the  Narragansetts  in 
December,  1675,  and  wrote  to  Governor  Leverett  an  in- 
teresting account  of  the  battle,  which  is  published  by 
Hutchinson. 

Mr.  Dudley,  with  a  keen  perception  of  the  future  in 
political  affairs,  attached  himself  to  the  moderate  party 
in  1580,  inclining  to  the  opinion  that  it  was  best  to  ac- 
quiesce in  the  surrender  of  the  old  charter,  and  wait  for 
circumstances.  This  is  supposed  to  have  paved  the  way 
for  his  agency  to  England,  to  which,  in  conjunction  with 
Major  John  Richards,  he  was  appointed  in  1682.  He 
professed  himself  warmly  in  favor  of  the  restoration  of 
the  charter,  but  his  conduct  in  England  proved  him  to 
have  played  the  courtier,  rather  for  his  own  advancement, 
than  for  the  interests  of  his  native  land.  His  mission 
was  unsuccessful,  and  he  returned  to  Boston,  23  Octo- 
ber, 1683.  His  proceedings  not  proving  satisfactory  to 
the  people,  he  lost  his  election  as  an  assistant  in  1684. 

During  his  visit  to  England,  finding  that  he  could 
not  serve  his  country  by  obtaining  a  confirmation  of  the 
old  charter,  he  determined  to  look  well  to  his  own  in- 
terests ;  and  accordingly  became  a  prominent  candidate 
for  the  chief  magistracy.  Dudley  was  a  finished  cour- 
tier, as  well  as  an  adroit  politician,  and  the  idea  of  having 
a  New  England  man,  born  and  brought  up  among  the 


*  Hutchinson,  i!  289—291 ;  where  the  articles  are  inserted.  The  Narragan- 
setts, who  were  then  very  powerful,  had  promised  Philip  to  rise,  in  the  spring  of 
1676,  with  4000  men. 


392  JOSEPH    DUDLEY. 

inhabitants,  appointed  governor,  was  a  circumstance  that 
gave  him  many  friends— an  advantage  which  a  man  of 
his  address  knew  well  how  to  use.  He  was  successful 
in  his  application,  and  when  the  government  of  Massa- 
chusetts was  changed,  in  1686,  to  a  President  and  Coun- 
cil, he  was  appointed  to  the  presidency.  The  people 
had  resisted  as  long  as  possible  the  surrender  of  their 
charter;  and  when  the  Rose  frigate  arrived  in  May,  1686, 
with  Dudley's  commission,  the  general  court  informed 
the  new  president  and  council,  that  they  did  not  consid- 
er their  assuming  of  the  government  as  just;  but  if  they 
considered  themselves  bound  to  obey  the  King,  they 
might,  and  the  court  would  endeavour  to  act  legally.* 

King  James  II.  was  proclaimed  with  great  ceremony, 
in  the  "High  street  in  Boston,"  on  the  20th  April,  1686, 
and  Mr.  Dudley  received  his  commission  on  the  15th 
May,  and  published  it  on  the  26th,  when  the  new  Pres- 
ident first  met  the  Council  in  form.f  He  was  commis- 
sioned as  President  of  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire, 
Maine,  and  Rhode  Island ;  and  to  assist  him  in  the  gov- 
ernment, fifteen  mandamus  counsellors  were  appointed 
by  the  crown.  No  house  of  deputies  was  recognized. 
To  the  President  and  Council,  thus  constituted,  was  com- 
mitted the  power  of  managing  and  controlling  all  the 

*  See  Hutchinson's  Colony  Mass.  Bay,  342.  The  town  of  Salem,  in  antici- 
pation of  Dudley's  appointment,  gave  the  following  instructions  to  their  depu> 
ties  in  the  general  court :  "  In  case  Mr.  Dudley,  &c,  said  to  be  nominated  and 
authorized  by  his  majesty  to  edit  another  government  here,  do  publish  a  loyal 
nullification  of  our  Charter,  and  a  commission  from  the  King  for  their  accept- 
ance of  the  government  here,  then  our  instruction  to  you  is,  that  you  give  no 
countenance  to  any  resistance,  but  peaceably  withdraw  yourselves,  as  represent- 
ing us  no  longer."     Felt's  Annals,  282. 

1  Dudley's  commission  as  President  of  New  England,  is  dated  27  Sept.  1685. 
He  acted  from  25  May,  1686,  until  20  Dec.  1686,  when  Andros  arrived. 


JOSEPH    DUDLEY.  393 

public  affairs.  The  new  government  went  into  opera- 
tion, 25  May,  1686.  In  general,  all  the  existing  legal 
usages  were  observed.  But  Dudley's  administration  was 
short,  and,  though  unpopular  with  the  people,  seems  not 
to  have  been  a  very  grievous  one.  It  lasted  but  four 
months  and  twenty-six  days,  when  the  next  political  rev- 
olution brought  Andros  upon  the  stage,  as  governor  of 
New  York  and  New  England.  This  man  arrived  at 
Boston  on  the  20th  December,  and  published  his  com- 
mission on  the  following  day.  Dudley  was  retained  as 
one  of  his  Council,  of  which  he  became  president,  and 
was  also  made  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Superior  Court. 
In  this  capacity,  he  opposed  some  of  the  proceedings  of 
Andros  and  the  Council,  in  their  attacks  upon  the  titles 
of  the  people  to  their  lands.  In  other  matters,  however, 
he  generally  went  with  the  party  of  Andros,  and  so  man- 
aged as  to  keep  up  a  friendly  understanding  with  him 
and  with  Randolph,  his  infamous  agent  and  confidential 
adviser. 

Mr.  Dudley,  of  course,  became  peculiarly  the  object 
of  dislike  among  the  people,  who  regarded  him  as  little 
better  than  the  betrayer  of  their  liberties.  And,  when 
in  April,  1689,  they  overturned  the  government  of  An- 
dros, Dudley,  as  one  of  the  most  obnoxious,  was  arrested 
and  kept  a  close  prisoner  for  a  long  time.  On  the  16th 
May,  1689,  a  ship  arrived  from  England  with  advices  of 
the  proclaiming  of  William  and  Mary.  This  was  most 
joyful  news.  The  fears  of  the  people,  of  any  bad  con- 
sequences, from  their  late  revolutionary  actions,  were 
now  over.  "  On  the  29th,  the  proclamation  was  pub- 
lished in  Boston,  with  greater  ceremony  than  had  ever 
been  known.  Governor  Bradstreet  and  his  council,  the 
50 


394  JOSEPH    DUDLEY. 

civil  and  military  officers,  merchants  of  the  town,  and 
country,  being  on  horseback,  the  regiment  of  the  town, 
and  many  companies  of  horse  and  foot  from  the  country, 
appearing  in  arms — a  great  entertainment  was  prepared 
in  the  town  house,  and  wine  was  served  out  to  the  sol- 
diers." 

On  the  5th  of  June,  the  representatives  from  several 
towns  assembled  at  Boston.  The  council  immediately 
proposed  to  them  to  consent  to  the  liberation  of  the  gentle- 
men seized  by  the  people,  upon  security,  but  this  was 
not  agreed  to ;  and  on  the  27th,  they  resolved  that  they 
were  not  bailable,  and  sent  up  articles  against  them. 
Sir  Edmund  Andros,  Col.  Dudley,*  and  others,  remained 
in  close  custody  for  upwards  of  twenty  weeks.  At  last, 
an  order  was  received  from  the  King,  approving  the 
course  pursued  by  the  people,  and  old  magistrates,  and  di- 
recting that  Andros  and  the  rest  of  the  prisoners  should 
be  sent  forthwith  to  England.  This  order  arrived  late  in 
the  year,  and  on  the  16th  Feb.  1690,  Sir  Edmund  An- 
dros, Mr.  Dudley,  and  several  others,  embarked  for  Eng- 
land. 

Lieut.  Gov.  Danforth,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  I.  Mather, 
speaking  of  the  transactions  of  this  period,  says,  "  Mr. 
Dudley  is  in  a  peculiar  manner  the  object  of  the  people's 
displeasure,  even  throughout  all  the  colonies,  where  he 
hath  sat  as  judge;  they  deeply  resent  his  correspondence 
with  that  wicked  man  Randolph,  for  overturning  the  gov- 
ernment. The  Governor  and  Council,  though  they 
have  done  their  utmost  to  procure  his  enlargement,  yet 
cannot  prevail,  but  the  people  will  have  him  in  the  jail ; 

*  Whitman  supposes  that  Dudley  obtained  his  title  of  Colonel,  by  an  appoint- 
ment in  the  British  army  while  in  England. 


JOSEPH    DUDLEY.  395 

and  when  he  hath  been  by  order  turned  out,  by  force 
and  tumult  they  fetch  him  in."  Dudley  himself,  in  a 
letter  to  Cotton  Mather,  dated  1st  June,  says,  "I  am 
told  that  this  morning  is  the  last  opportunity  for  rolling 
away  the  stone  from  the  mouth  of  this  sepulchre,  where 
I  am  buried  alive,"  &c.  And  in  a  letter  to  his  brother- 
in-law,  Gov.  Bradstreet,  dated  12th  Sept.,  he  says, 
"  After  twenty  weeks  unaccountable  imprisonment,  and 
many  barbarous  usages  offered  me,  I  have  now  to  com- 
plain that  on  Monday,  the  whole  day,  I  could  be  allowed 
no  victuals,  till  nine  o'clock  at  night,  when  the  keeper's 
wife  offered  to  kindle  her  own  fire  and  warm  something 
for  me,  and  the  Corporal  expressly  commanded  the  fire 
to  be  put  out.  I  may  be  easily  oppressed  to  death. 
God  will  hear  them  that  complain  to  him.  I  pray  your 
direction  for  your  oppressed  kinsman,  J.  D." 

Gov.  Dudley  returned  to  his  native  country  towards 
the  close  of  the  year  1690,  having  been  much  more  suc- 
cessful in  conciliating  the  favor  of  the  crown,  than  he 
could  hope  to  be  of  regaining  the  confidence  of  the  peo- 
ple. He  was  now  looking  to  another  sphere  of  action 
for  public  honors.  The  supreme  court  of  the  colony  of 
New  York  was  established  on  the  6th  of  May,  1691, 
and  on  the  15th  Mr.  Dudley,  who  had  previously  been 
appointed  a  member  of  the  council  of  New  York,  was 
appointed  chief  justice  by  Governor  Sloughter.  On  the 
11th  Nov.  1692,  after  the  arrival  of  Gov.  Fletcher,  he 
was  removed  from  this  station,  on  account  of  not  being 
resident  in  the  province.  As  a  member  of  the  council  of 
New  York,  and  senior  in  the  board,  he  was  entitled  to 
preside  in  the  administration  of  that  province,  on  the 
death  of  Sloughter;  but  being  absent  in  Massachusetts  at 


396  JOSEPH    DUDLEY, 

the  time,  the  chief  position  was  given  to  another,  a  pro- 
ceeding which  Mr.  Dudley  did  not  think  it  worth  while 
to  contest. 

Mr.  Dudley  went  the  third  time  to  England  in  1693  ; 
where  he  remained  until  1702.  While  there,  he  was 
eight  years  Deputy  Governor  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  un- 
der Lord  Cutts,  through  whose  interest  he  was  also  re- 
turned a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons,  for  the 
borough  of  Newton  in  Southampton.  On  the  death  of 
King  William,  he  returned  with  a  commission  from  Queen 
Anne,  as  governor  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire, 
with  which  he  arrived  at  Boston,  11  June,  1702,  and 
was  received,  says  the  Boston  News  Letter  of  that  day, 
"with  great  respect  and  affection."*  He  was  sworn 
into  office,  13th  June,  1702.  During  his  absence  in 
England,  he  had  managed  to  take  advantage  of  the 
complaints  transmitted  from  Massachusetts  against  Gov- 
ernor Phips,  and  after  having  caused  him  to  be  arrest- 
ed in  London,  and  held  to  bail  in  £20,000,  found  it  an 
easy  matter  to  supplant  him. 

On  meeting  his  first  assembly,  Dudley  gave  "  instances 
of  his  remembering  the  old  quarrel,  and  the  people,  on 
their  parts,  resolved  never  to  forget  it."f  "  All  his  in- 
genuity could  not  stem  the  current  of  their  prejudice 
against  him."  A  stated  salary  was  demanded  for  the 
governor.  "  As  to  settling  a  salary  for  the  governor," 
replied  the  House,  "  it  is  altogether  new  to  us ;  nor  can 
we  think  it  agreeable  to  our  present  constitution  3  but  we 
shall  be  ready  to  do  what  may  be  proper  for  his  support." 

*  Sir  Charles  Hobby,  a  native  of  Boston,  was  a  rival  of  Dudley  for  the 
office  of  governor.     He  died  in  London,  in  1714. 

t  Bancroft,  iii.  99,  100. 


JOSEPH    DUDLEY.  397 

Here  began  the  controversy  which  nothing  but  indepen- 
dence could  solve.  In  vain  did  Dudley  endeavor  to  win 
from  the  legislature,  concessions  to  the  royal  prerogative ; 
and  he,  and  for  a  season  his  son  also,  became  the  active 
opponents  of  the  chartered  liberties  of  New  England, 
endeavoring  to  effect  their  overthrow,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  a  general  government,  as  in  the  days  of  Andros. 
In  December,  1702,  he  wrote  to  the  board  of  trade  in 
England,  that  "many  of  the  council  were  Common- 
wealth's men,  and  that  until  the  Queen  should  appoint  a 
Council,  nothing  could  be  done."  In  December,  1703, 
he  writes  to  the  secretary  of  state,  that  he  "  had  communi- 
cated the  Queen's  requisitions  to  the  assembly  relative  to 
Pemaquid,  and  the  settlement  of  salaries — but  though  he 
had  used  all  possible  methods,  he  found  it  impossible  to 
move  that  sort  of  men,  who  love  not  the  Crown  and  Gov- 
ernment of  England  to  any  manner  of  obedience." 
About  this  time,  the  copy  of  a  letter  written  by  Paul 
Dudley,  son  of  the  governor,  who  was  then  attorney 
general,  was  made  public,  in  which  he  made  the  offen- 
sive declaration,  that  "  this  country  will  never  be  worth 
living  in  for  lawyers  and  gentlemen,  till  the  charter  is 
taken  away."  Hutchinson  says  the  governor  had  no 
rest  for  the  first  seven  years.* 

At  the  general  election  in  May,  1703,  Governor  Dud- 
ley negatived  five  of  the  newly  elected  counsellors — men 
of  probity,  influence  and  popularity — but  whose  course 
towards  him,  in  the  revolution  of  1689,  he  could  not  so 
far  overlook,  as  to  admit  them  among  his  confidential  ad- 
visers. Thomas  Oakes,  a  representative  from  Boston, 
and  a  popular  leader  of  the  opposition,  was  this  year 

*  Hutchinson,  ii.  140. 


398  JOSEPH    DUDLEY. 

chosen  speaker  of  the  house.  The  governor  negatived 
the  choice.  He  was  then  chosen  to  the  council,  when 
Dudley  negatived  him  there  also.  He  was  for  many 
years,  representative  from  Boston,  and  in  1705,  was 
again  chosen  speaker.  Dudley  negatived  the  choice,  and 
ordered  the  house  to  choose  another  person,  but  they  re- 
fused. These  proceedings,  of  course,  rendered  the  gov- 
ernor very  unpopular  with  the  people.  The  belief  was 
also  becoming  somewhat  general,  encouraged  by  the  scan- 
dals of  his  enemies,  that  he  was  secretly  encouraging  an 
illicit  trade  with  the  French  possessions  in  North  Ameri- 
ca— a  charge  which  does  not  seem  to  have  had  any  foun- 
dation. 

In  July,  1702,  Gov.  Dudley  visited  all  the  eastern 
frontiers  as  far  as  Pemaquid,  taking  with  him  such  gen- 
tlemen of  the  general  court  as  he  thought  proper,  where 
he  met  the  delegates  from  the  Indian  tribes,  and  confirmed 
the  treaties  which  had  been  formerly  made.  Queen  Anne 
had  already  declared  war  against  France,  and  the  colonies 
soon  became  again  involved  in  a  French  and  Indian  war. 
To  keep  the  eastern  Indians  at  peace,  Governor  Dudley 
in  June,  1703,  held  another  conference  with  the  chiefs, 
who  assured  him  that  they  had  no  thought  of  breaking 
the  peace,  which  "should  continue  as  long  as  the  sun 
and  moon."  In  six  weeks  after,  they  attacked  all  the 
settlements  from  Casco  to  Wells,  burning  and  destroying 
all  before  them.  Governor  Dudley,  during  this  painful 
struggle,  appears  to  have  laboured  with  great  earnest- 
ness to  prosecute  the  war,  and  protect  the  people  from 
their  enemies.  The  war  continued  until  the  treaty  of 
Utrecht,  in  1713,  was  known  in  America,  when  the  east- 
ern Indians  proposed  to  treat  of  peace,  and  Governor 


JOSEPH    DUDLEY.  399 

Dudley  finally  concluded  a  treaty  with  them  at  Ports- 
mouth, on  the  13th  July.* 

From  his  first  arrival  as  governor,  Dudley  had  shown 
a  fond  regard  for  the  interests  of  his  Alma  Mater,  and 
President  Quincy,  in  his  elaborate  History  of  Harvard 
University,  classes  Gov.  Dudley  among  the  greatest  ben- 
efactors of  the  college.  "  Of  all  the  statesmen,  who  have 
been  instrumental  in  promoting  the  interests  of  Harvard 
University,  Joseph  Dudley  was  most  influential  in  giving 
its  constitution  a  permanent  character."  When,  howev- 
er, near  the  close  of  his  career,  the  trustees  of  the  col- 
lege refused  to  make  a  son  of  the  governor  their  treasurer, 
the  corporation  incurred  his  resentment,  and  that  of  the 
family. 

The  demise  of  Queen  Anne  occurred  in  1714.  This 
event  rendered  the  tenure  of  Governor  Dudley's  office 
precarious — his  influence  declined,  and  he  seems  to  have 
gathered  his  robes  about  him  to  quit  the  stage.  He  met 
the  Assembly  for  the  last  time  in  May,  1715,  but  made 
no  speech,  as  was  his  wont.  He  was  superseded  in  No- 
vember, of  that  year,  by  Governor  Shute. 

Gov.  Dudley's  administration  was  popular  in  New 
Hampshire.  Beside  his  attention  to  the  general  interests 
of  the  province,  and  his  care  for  its  defence  against  the 
Indians,  he  had  the  particular  merit  of  favoring  the 
views  of  the  people  who  were  opposed  to  Allen's  claim  ; 
and  they  made  him  amends,  by  promoting  in  the  assem- 
bly addresses  to  the  Queen,  defending  his  character 
when  it  was  attacked,  and  praying  for  his  continuance  in 
office,  when  petitions  were  presented  for  his  removal. 
A  good  harmony  subsisted  between  the  governor  and 

*  Penhallow's  Indian  Wars,  72—80. 


400  JOSEPH    DUDLEY. 

people,  and  between  the  two  branches  of  the  legislature 
of  the  province,  during  the  whole  of  his  administration.* 
7"he  general  feeling  in  his  favor  was  evinced  in  1707, 
when  a  petition  from  Massachusetts  to  the  Queen  against 
the  governor,  was  read  before  the  general  assembly  in 
New  Hampshire.  The  council  and  representatives  in  full 
assembly,  nemine  co?itradicente,  voted  that  some  of  the 
charges  were  scandalous,  unheard  of,  and  false  re- 
proaches ;  and  they  drew  up  an  address  to  the  Queen,  in 
which  they  justified  his  administration  from  all  those  ca- 
lumnies, and  prayed  his  continuance  in  the  government.! 
Governor  Dudley,  as  one  of  the  original  grantees  of 
the  town  of  Oxford,  Massachusetts,  conceived  the  pro- 
ject of  forming  there  a  settlement  of  French  Protestants, 
who  were  looking  for  safety  by  flight  to  other  countries, 
on  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantz.J    A  correspon- 

*  John  Usher,  who  was  lieutenant  governor  of  New  Hampshire  under  Dud- 
ley, furnishes  a  key  to  the  good  understanding  between  the  governor  and  the 
people  of  New  Hampshire.  In  a  letter  written  in  January,  1704,  to  the  Board 
of  Trade  and  Plantations,  he  says  that  "  Dudley,  in  consideration  of  £160  per 
annum,  allows  a  Republican  party  to  govern,  and  every  one  against  a  Crown 
government,  in  places  of  trust."  In  a  previous  letter  to  the  Board,  dated  Dec. 
1703,  Usher  complains  of  the  bad  state  of  the  government  of  New  Hampshire — 
"  which  will  not  be  happy  unless  a  Governor  is  sent,  who,  without  regard  to 
money,  will  enforce  the  prerogative,  and  curb  their  anti-monarchical  principles." 
Sampson  Sheafe,  then  collector  of  the  customs  at  New  Castle,  in  Feb.  1704, 
wrote  the  Board  of  Trade,  that  "  Usher  had  come  to  a  ticklish  government,  as 
the  people  are  of  an  ungovernable  spirit,  and,  notwithstanding  their  pretensions, 
are  against  monarchical  government."  [From  copies  of  Records  in  Plantation 
Office,  London,  in  possession  of  Col.  Peter  Force,  Washington,    D.  C.J 

t  In  June,  1706,  a  petition  was  presented  to  the  Queen  for  the  removal  of 
Governor  Dudley,  on  the  charge  of  mal-administration  of  the  government  and 
of  being  secretly  concerned  with  the  smugglers.  It  appears  that  he  had  granted 
permits  to  some  of  those  traders  to  carry  contraband  articles  to  PortRo^al.  This 
was  the  source  of  many  suspicions  against  him.  The  general  court  of  Massa- 
chusetts, however,  passed  a  vote  in  Nov.  1707,  expressing  their  belief  that  Mr. 
Dudley  was  innocent  of  the  charge.     Felt,  344.     Hutchinson,  ii.  145. 

t  Henry  IV.  of  France,  on  the  13  April,  1598,  signed  at  Nantz,  an  edict, 
granting  "perpetual  and  inviolable  liberty  of  conscience  to  the  Protestants." 
This  edict  was  revoked  by  Louis  XIV.  on  the  8  Oct.  1685 


JOSEPH    DUDLEY.  401 

dence  took  place  between  some  of  the  leading  Protestants 
at  Rochelle,  and  the  proprietors  of  Oxford,  which  result- 
ed in  the  settlement  of  that  town  in  1686,  by  thirty 
Huguenot  families,  who  had  escaped  from  France.* 

On  leaving  office,  Governor  Dudley  retired  to  his 
estate  in  Roxbury,  where  he  died  on  the  2d  April,  1720, 
in  the  73d  year  of  his  age.  "He  was  buried,  (says  the 
Boston  News-Letter,)  on  the  8th,  in  the  sepulchre  of 
his  father,  with  all  the  honors  and  respect  his  country 
was  capable  of  doing  him.  He  was  a  man  of  rare  endow- 
ments and  Shining  accomplishments,  a  singular  honor  to 
his  country.  He  was  early  its  darling,  always  its  orna- 
ment, and  in  age  its  crown.  The  scholar,  the  divine,  the 
philosopher,  and  the  lawyer,  all  met  in  him."  Hutchin- 
son says,  "he  applied  himself  with  the  greatest  diligence 
to  the  business  of  his  station,  The  affairs  of  the  war,  and 
other  parts  of  his  administration,  were  conducted  with 
good  judgment.  In  economy,  he  excelled,  both  in  pub- 
lic and  private  life." 

Such  is  the  judgment  of  a  contemporary,  and  of  the 
early  historian  of  Massachusetts,  respecting  the  second 
Governor  Dudley.  Bancroft,  with  the  added  lights  of  his- 
torical investigation,  comes  to  this  stern  estimate :  "  The 
character  of  Dudley  was  that  of  profound  selfishness. 
He  possessed  prudence  and  the  inferior  virtues,  and  was 
as  good  a  governor  as  one  could  be,  who  loved  neither 
freedom  nor  his  native  land.  His  grave  is  among  stran- 
gers; his  memory  has  perished  from  among  those  whose 
interests  he  flattered,  and  is  preserved  only  in  the  coun- 
try of  his  birth.     He  who  loved  himself  more  than  free- 

*  See  an  interesting  memoir  of  the  French  Protestants  of  Massachusetts,  by 
the  late  Dr.  Holmes,  in  2d  vol.  3d  series  Mass.  Hist.  Collections. 

51 


402  JOSEPH    DUDLEY. 

dom  or  his  country,  is  left  without  one  to  palliate  his 
selfishness."* 

Governor  Dudley  married,  in  1668,  Rebecca,  daugh- 
ter of  major-general  Edward  Tyng,  of  Boston,  afterwards 
of  Dunstable.  She  survived  the  governor  about  two 
years,  and  died  21  Sept.,  1722.     Their  children  were, 

1.  Thomas,  born  26  February,  1670,  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1685. 

2.  Edward,  born  4  September,  1671,  died  in  Janua- 
ry, 1683. 

3.  Paul,  born  3  September,  1675,  graduated  at  H. 
C.  in  1690,  and  died  at  Roxbury,  21  January,  1751, 
aged  75.  He  finished  his  law  studies  at  the  Temple, 
London ;  was  appointed  attorney  general  of  the  province, 
and  afterwards  chief  justice.  He  was  a  learned  and 
pious  man,  and  founder  of  the  Dudleian  Lecture  at  Har- 
vard College.  A  member  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Lon- 
don, several  valuable  articles  from  his  pen  are  found 
among  their  published  transactions. 

4.  Samuel,  born  in  September,  1677. 

5.  John,  born  28  February,  1679. 

6.  Rebecca,  born  in  1681,  married  15  Sept.  1702,  to 
Samuel  Sewall,  son  of  Chief  Justice  Sewall,  and  propri- 
etor of  a  large  estate  in  Brookline,  where  he  died  of  pa- 
ralysis in  1751,  aged  73. 

7.  Catharine,  who  died  young.     8.  Anne. 

9.  William,  born  20  Oct.  1686,  graduated  at  H.  C. 
in  1704,  was  a  colonel  of  militia,  and  member  of  the 
council. 

10.  Daniel,  born  4  February,  1689. 

11.  Catharine,  2d ;  and   12.  Mary. 

.     *  Bancroft,  iii.  100. 


403 


X.     SIR   EDMUND   ANDROS. 

Sir  Edmund  Andros,  "  Seigneur  of  Sausmares," 
as  he  styled  himself*  and  "a  poor  Knight  of  Guernsey," 
as  he  is  called  by  Oldmixon,  was  a  native  of  Guernsey, 
where  he  was  born  in  1632.  His  family  is  represented 
to  have  been  wealthy  and  respectable,  and  Edmund  was 
secured  a  commission  in  the  army,  in  which  he  after- 
wards obtained  the  rank  of  major.  Circumstances  had 
introduced  him  to  the  notice  of  the  Duke  of  York,  who 
took  him  under  his  protection ;  and  his  connection  with 
that  prince,  led  to  his  subsequent  employment  in  Amer- 
ica. 

The  treaty  of  Westminster,  of  9  February,  1674, 
restoring  to  England  the  possession  of  her  American  ter- 
ritories, the  Duke  of  York  obtained  from  Charles  II.  a 
renewal  of  his  patent,  for  the  same  territory  which  had 
been  conveyed  to  him  in  1664.  This  patent  was  dated 
29th  June,  and  two  days  thereafter  the  Duke  appoint- 
ed Major  Andros,  Governor  of  his  territories  in  Ameri- 
ca. In  May,  1674,  Andros  was  empowered  by  a  royal 
order  to  raise  100  soldiers  in  London,  besides  officers, 
and  .transport  them  to  New  York,  to  garrison  the  fort 
there,  of  which  he  was  to  have  command.  On  the  31st 
October,  1674,  Andros  arrived  at  New  York,  received 
the  surrender  of  the  territory  from  the  Dutch  authorities, 
and  re-established  the  former  government  of  the  Duke. 

*  In  a  grant  of  land,  or  confirmation  of  a  prior  grant,  to  Richard  Smith,  on 
Long  Tsland,  dated  25  March,  1677,  Andros  styles  himself,  "  Edmund  Andros, 
Esquire,  Seigneur  of  Sausmares,  Lt.  &  Gov.  Genl."  &c. 


404  SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  his  administration,  was 
to  arraign  Captain  Manning,  who  on  the  28th  July, 
1673,  treacherously  surrendered  the  English  fort  at 
New  York  to  the  Dutch,  whose  invading  fleet  had  come 
to  anchor  off  Staten  Island.  Manning  escaped  the  pun- 
ishment of  death,  but  was  publicly  disgraced,— Andros 
in  this  case  exhibiting  almost  the  only  act  of  lenity  record- 
ed of  him  towards  an  offender,  by  using  his  influence 
with  the  court  martial  to  avert  the  sentence  of  death. 

The  territory  conferred  on  the  Duke,  by  his  charter, 
comprehended  not  only  New  York,  but  the  greater  por- 
tion of  the  whole  coast  to  the  north.*  The  charter  it- 
self went  so  far  as  to  sanction  whatever  ordinance  the 
Duke  of  York,  or  his  agents,  might  establish,  and 
in  regard  to  justice  and  legislation,  (says  Bancroft,)  An- 
dros, the  governor,  was  left  to  his  own  conscience  and 
his  employer.  He  entered  at  once,  upon  the  execution 
of  all  his  powers. 

Not  content  with  jurisdiction  in  civil  and  military  af- 
fairs, Governor  Andros  extended  his  supervision  over 
the  moral  and  religious  conduct  of  the  people.     Some 


*  The  grant,  in  terms,  was  as  follows  :  "  All  that  part  of  the  main  land  of 
New  England,  beginning  at  a  certain  place  called  or  known  by  the  name  of  St. 
Croix,  next  adjoining  to  New  Scotland,  in  America,  and  from  thence  extending 
along  the  seacoast,  unto  a  certain  place  called  Pemaquie,  or  Pemequid,  and  so 
up  the  river  thereof,  to  the  furthest  head  of  the  same,  as  it  tendeth  northward  ;  ex- 
tending from  thence  to  the  river  of  Kimbequin,  and  so  upwards,  by  the  shortest 
course,  to  the  river  of  Canada,  northward  ;  and  also  all  that  island  or  islands  com- 
monly called  by  the  several  name  or  names  of  Meiti  wacks,  or  Long  Island,  situate 
and  being  towards  the  west  of  Cape  Cod,  and  the  narrow  Higansetts,  abutting 
upon  the  main  land  between  the  two  rivers,  then  called  and  known  by  the  sever- 
al names  of  Connecticut  and  Hudson's  river,  together  also  with  all  the  said  river 
called  Hudson's  river,  and  all  the  land  from  the  west  side  of  Connecticut  river 
to  the  east  side  of  Delaware  bay,  and  also  all  those  several  islands  called  and 
known  by  the  mmes  of  Martin's  vineyard,  or  Nantucks,  or  otherwise  Nan- 
tucket." 


SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS.  405 

shallow  enthusiasts  in  that  day,  as  sometimes  happens  in 
the  present,  making  loud  professions  of  personal  and 
exclusive  righteousness,  Andros,  on  the  15  Feb.  1675, 
issued  a  warrant  for  the  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  one 
of  them,  named  John  Gerrits,  "  for  pretending  to  extra- 
ordinary sanctity" — pretending  that  Christ  abided  in  him, 
"  and  endeavouring  to  instil  these  notions  into  the  minds 
of  others,  particularly  some  married  women,"  &c.  The 
next  day,  he  issued  a  warrant  to  arrest  another,  named 
Peter  Ellet,  "for  reporting  that  he  had  seen  sights 
or  visions  over  the  city,  or  fort,  to  the  great  uneasiness 
of  the  public  mind." 

He  next   interfered   in  a   religious   dispute,   which 
had  sprung  up  at  Albany.     A  Catholic  clergyman,  who 
had<been  recommended  to  Andros  by  the  Duke  of  York, 
was  by  the  governor  stationed  at  Albany.     The  Dutch 
minister  at  that  place  disputed  his  right  to  administer 
the  sacrament,  as  he  had  not  the  approval  of  the  Classis 
of  Amsterdam.     A  bitter  controversy  arose.     The  Alba- 
ny magistrates,  taking  the  part  of  their  minister,  imprison- 
ed the  catholic  priest;  whereupon  Andros  ordered  his  im- 
mediate release,  and  summoned  the  magistrates  before 
him  at  New  York.     Warrants  were  issued  against  them, 
and  Leisler,  who  afterwards  figured  in  the  history  of  the 
province,  refusing  to  comply  with  the  order,  was  thrust 
into  prison.    Finding,  after  a  time,  that  he  was  beginning 
to  lose  ground  in  attempting  to  enforce  an  ecclesiastical  ju- 
risdiction, Andros  finally  gave  over  the  further  prosecu- 
tion of  this  matter,  and  turned  his  attention  to  other 
portions  of  the  territory  claimed  by  the  Duke. 

He  now  required,  the  submission  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Long  Island,  and  of  the  whole  country  west  of  the 


406  SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS. 

Connecticut  river.  The  people  of  the  eastern  part  of 
Long  Island  at  first  resisted  his  demand,  but  they  finally 
submitted  to  his  authority. 

The  people  of  Connecticut  resolved  to  maintain 
their  independence  of  the  Duke  of  York,  as  their  char- 
ter was  of  prior  date  to  that  of  the  Duke.  Detach- 
ments of  militia  were  therefore  ordered  to  New-Lon- 
don and  Saybrook,  the  troops  at  Saybrook  being  placed 
under  the  command  of  Capt.  Thomas  Bull,  of  Hartford. 

Early  in  July,  1675,  the  people  of  Saybrook  were 
surprised  by  the  appearance  of  Major  Andros,  with  an 
armed  force,  in  the  Sound,  making  directly  for  the  fort. 
They  had  received  no  intelligence  of  the  hostile  expe- 
dition of  Andros,  and  having  no  instructions  from  the 
governor,  were  undecided  what  course  to  take,  when  at 
a  critical  juncture  Capt.  Bull  with  his  company  arrived, 
and  preparations  were  at  once  made  for  the  defence  of 
the  fort  and  town.  The  assembly  met  at  Hartford  on  the 
9th  of  July,  and  immediately  drew  up  a  protest  against 
the  proceedings  of  Andros,  which  they  sent  by  express 
to  Saybrook,  with  instructions  to  Capt.  Bull  to  propose 
to  Andros  a  reference  of  the  dispute  to  commissioners. 

On  the  11th,  Major  Andros,  with  several  armed 
sloops  drew  up  before  the  fort,  hoisted  the  king's  flag  on 
board,  and  demanded  a  surrender  of  the  fortress  and 
town.  Captain  Bull  immediately  raised  his  majesty's 
colors  in  the  fort,  and  arranged  his  men  in  the  best  man- 
ner possible.  The  major  did  not  like  to  fire  on 
the  king's  colors,  and  perceiving  that,  should  he  attempt 
to  reduce  the  town  by  force,  it  would  in  all  likelihood  be 
a  bloody  affair,  he  judged  it  expedient  not  to  fire  upon 
the  troops. 


SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS.  407 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  12th  of  July,  Andros 
desired  that  he  might  have  permission  to  land  on  the 
shore,  for  the  purpose  of  an  interview  with  the  minis- 
ters and  chief  officers  of  the  town.  He  probably  flat- 
tered himself  that  if  he  could  obtain  a  foothold  upon  the 
soil,  and  then  read  the  Duke's  patent,  and  his  own  com- 
mission, to  the  people,  it  would  make  a  serious  impres- 
sion upon  them,  and  that  he  would  be  able  to  gain  by 
artifice  that  which  he  could  never  accomplish  by  force 
of  arms.  He  was  allowed  to  come  on  shore  with  his 
suite.  Captain  Bull  and  his  officers,  with  the  officers 
and  gentlemen  of  the  town,  met  him  at  his  landing,  and 
informed  him  that  they  had,  at  that  instant,  received  in- 
structions to  tender  him  a  treaty,  and  to  refer  the  whole 
matter  in  controversy  to  commissioners,  capable  of  de- 
termining it,  according  to  law  and  justice.  Major  An- 
dros rejected  the  proposal  at  once,  and  forthwith  com- 
manded, in  his  majesty's  name,  that  the  Duke's  patent, 
and  the  commission  which  he  had  received  from  his 
royal  highness,  should  be  read.  Captain  Bull,  compre- 
hending at  once  the  artifice  of  Andros,  commanded  him, 
in  his  majesty's  name,  to  forbear  the  reading.  And 
when  his  clerk  attempted  to  persist  in  reading,  Captain 
Bull  repeated  his  command,  with  such  energy  of  voice 
and  manner,  as  convinced  the  Major  that  it  might  not  be 
altogether  safe  for  him  to  proceed. 

The  Yankee  captain,  having  succeeded  in  silencing 
the  valiant  representative  of  the  Duke,  next  informed 
him  that  he  had  a  communication  to  deliver  from  the  as- 
sembly, and  he  then  read  the  protest.  Governor  Andros, 
affecting  to  be  well  pleased  with  the  bold  and  "soldier- 
like appearance  of  his  opponent,  asked,  "  What  is  your 


408  SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS. 

name  ?'"  He  replied,  "  My  name  is  Bull,  Sir."  "  Bull !" 
exclaimed  the  governor,  "  It  is  a  pity  that  your  horns 
are  not  tipped  with  silver."  Finding  that  he  could  make 
no  impression  upon  the  officers  or  people,  and  that  the 
legislature  of  the  colony  were  determined  to  defend  them- 
selves, in  the  .possession  of  their  chartered  rights,  An- 
dros  prudently  gave  up  his  design  of  seizing  the  fort. 
The  militia  of  the  town  courteously  guarded  him  to  his 
boat,  and  going  on  board,  he  soon  sailed  for  New  York, 
and  Connecticut  was  no  more  troubled  by  his  presence, 
or  interference,  until  after  the  accession  of  James  the 
Second. 

Andros,  acting  in  the  spirit  of  his  master,  discour- 
aged even  the  mention  of  an  assembly,  and  proceeded  to 
levy  customs,  and  to  establish  ordinances,  without  the 
consent  of  the  people.  The  Puritans  of  Long  Island, 
however,  were  so  unanimous  in  opposition,  claiming  a 
representation  as  an  inalienable  birthright,  that  Andros 
at  length  advised  the  Duke  of  York  to  concede  to  them 
legislative  franchises.  The  reply  of  James,  marks  the 
spirit  of  the  man  :  "I  cannot  (says  he)  but  suspect  as- 
semblies would  be  of  dangerous  consequence,  nothing 
being  more  known  than  the -aptness  of  such  bodies  to 
assume  to  themselves  many  privileges,  which  prove  de- 
structive to,  or  very  often  disturb,  the  peace  of  govern- 
ment, when  they  are  allowed."  The  people,  however, 
continued  to  urge  their  right  as  British  subjects  to  a 
representation,  and  in  October,  16S3,  under  Governor 
Dongan,  the  successor  of  Andros,  after  an  unwearied 
struggle  of  thirty  years,  an  assembly  was  convened,  chosen 
by  the  'people  themselves,  who  until  this  time  had  been 
allowed  no  share  in  the  government. 


SIR     ED3IUND    ANDROS.  409 

During  the  year  1680,  Philip  Carteret,  as  the  depu- 
ty of  Sir  George  Carteret,  resumed  the  government  of 
East  Jersey.  He  was  a  popular  chief  magistrate.  He 
encouraged  a  direct  trade  with  England,  unincumbered 
with  the  customs  exacted  by  Andros  at  the  port  of  New 
York.  The  commerce  of  New  York  was  thus  placed 
in  jeopardy ;  and  Andros,  disregarding  the  patent  of 
the  Duke  of  York  to  Sir  George,  undertook  to  claim 
that  the  ships  of  New  Jersey  should  pay  tribute  at 
New  York.  The  people  of  Jersey  resisted,  and  Car- 
teret was  imprisoned  by  order  of  Andros;  but  finally 
released  by  the  verdict  of  a  jury.  Andros  then  at- 
tempted to  intimidate  the  government  of  New  Jersey,  by 
the  royal  patent  to  the  Duke.  But  the  firmness  of  the 
legislature  preserved  her  independence.  While  this  con- 
troversy was  going  on,  Andros  had  been  to  England  and 
returned.  The  rights  of  New  Jersey  had  been  confirmed 
by  the  English  tribunals ;  and  New  York,  presenting  for 
the  time  the  rare  spectacle  of  free  trade,  as  a  consequence 
was  left  without  a  revenue.  Andros  returned  to  Eng- 
land, in  May,  1682,  and  was  succeeded  in  the  govern- 
ment of  New  York  by  Thomas  Dongan,  in  September 
of  the  same  year.* 

The  Duke  of  York  succeeded  to  the  throne  in  Feb. 
1685,  under  the  title  of  James  the  Second ;  and  on  the  3d 
June,  1686,  appointed  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  who  had 
been  knighted  on  his  return  from  New  York,  as  Gover- 
nor of  all  the  New  England  colonies,  excepting  Connecti- 
cut.    Chalmers  says, "  there  was  a  great  new  seal  appoint- 

*  Though  Colonel  Dongan  was  appointed  to  the  government  of  New  York 
on  the  30th  Sept.  1632,  he  did  not  arrive  in  New  York  until  the  27th  August, 
1683.— Smith,  i.  66,  ed.  1820. 

52 


410  SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS. 

ed  for  New  England,  under  the  administration  of  Andros, 
which  was  honored  with  a  remarkable  motto :  JYunquam 
libertas  gratior  extat."  Hume,  speaking  of  the  colonies, 
says,  "  King  James  recalled  the  charters,  by  which  theii 
liberties  were  secured;  and  he  sent  over  governors  vest- 
ed with  absolute  powers." 

Governor  Andros  arrived  at  Nantasket  on  the  19th 
December,  1686,  in  the  Kingfisher  50  gun  ship,  landed 
at  Boston  on  the  20th,  and  the  same  day  published  his 
commission.*  u  He  was  received,"  says  Chalmers, u  with 
a  satisfaction  in  proportion  only  as  he  was  less  dreaded 
than  Kirke."f  Andros  held  his  first  Council  on  the  30th 
December,  and  commenced  with  fair  professions;  but 
soon  violated  them,  and  proved  himself  a  fit  and  willing 
instrument  of  tyranny.  He  evidently  entered  upon  the 
discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  office  with  a  strong  preju- 
dice against  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  and  exhibited 
his  arbitrary  temper  by  removing  from  office  the  magis- 
trates under  the  old  charter,  and  overturning  most  of  the 
institutions  of  the  first  settlers  of  New  England. 

The  last  records  of  the  State,  under  the  old  charter, 
appear  to  be  of  May  12th,  1686.  Such  was  the  rigor 
of  his  government,  that  the  people  were  universally 
dissatisfied.  They  despised  him  and  his  confidential  asso- 
ciates. So  sensible  was  he  of  this,  that,  by  some  means  at 
this  day  unknown,  he  or  his  Secretary  Randolph,  des- 

*  The  Commission  to  Andros  is  published,  from  an  authentic  copy,  in 
Force's  Tracts,  vol.  IV.  No.  8. 

t  Colonel  Kirke,  afterwards  so  infamously  distinguished  by  the  cruelties 
which  he  practised  upon  the  adherents  of  the  ill-fated  Duke  of  Monmouth,  had 
actually  been  appointed  in  June,  1684,  by  Charles  II.,  as  Governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, New  Hampshire,  Maine,  and  New  Plymouth  ;  but  the  death  of  the  King 
annulled  the  appointment. 


SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS.  411 

troyed  or  carried  away  all  the  records  of  his  administra- 
tion, and  there  is  now  no  trace  of  them,  or  even  a  single 
paper  relative  thereto,  left  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary 
of  State  at  Boston. 

Andros  was  authorized  by  his  commission,  to  appoint 
and  remove  the  members  of  his  council;  and  with  their 
consent,  to  make  laws,  impose  taxes,  and  control  the  mili- 
tia of  the  country.  He  was  also  empowered  to  grant 
lands  on  such  terms,  and  subject  to  such  quit-rents,  as 
should  be  approved  by  the  King.  The  council  at  first 
consisted  of  forty  or  more  persons,  but  after  a  short  time 
a  few  only  acted  with  the  governor,  and  seven  being  suf- 
ficient for  a  board,  he  took  care  to  select  such  as  were 
likely  to  prove  themselves  his  most  devoted  adherents. 

A  series  of  despotic  measures  ensued.     The  press 
was  placed  under  the  censorship  of  his  secretary  and  in- 
strument, the  notorious  Randolph.    Personal  liberty  was 
disregarded,  and  none  were  permitted  to  leave  the  prov- 
ince without  license   from  the   governor.     Magistrates 
alone  were  permitted  to  solemnize  marriages,  and  mar- 
riages were  not  allowed,  until  bonds  with  sureties  were 
executed  to  the  governor,  to  be  forfeited  if  any  lawful 
impediment  should  afterwards  appear.     Enormous  ex- 
actions were  made   in  the  shape  of  fees,  particularly  in 
matters  of  probate.     The   people  were  only  allowed  to 
vote  for  municipal  officers ;  and  the  vote  by  ballot  was 
abolished.     And  when  the  people  of  Lynn  remonstrated, 
Andros  told  them  plainly,  "  There  is  no  such  thing  as  a 
town  in  the  whole  country."     He  gave  out  that  all  titles 
to  land  were  annulled  ;  and  when  Indian  deeds  were  pro- 
duced, he  declared  them  to  be  "  no  better  than  the  scratch 
of  a   bear's   paw."     Landholders    were    obliged  again 


412  SIR    EDMUNI'     i  YDROS, 

to  pay  for  lands  which  they  had  quietly  held  for  forty  or 
fifty  years.  A  tax  of  a  penny  in  the  pound  and  a  poll- 
tax  of  twenty  pence  was  laid.  The  towns  generally  re- 
sisted its  payment,  and  the  people  of  Ipswich  published 
a  protest  against  the  exaction,  as  being  contrary  to  law, 
for  which  the  most  conspicuous  amongst  them  were  im- 
prisoned, and  fined,  one  of  whom  was  the  intrepid  John 
Wise,  the  minister  of  the  town,  who  was  suspended 
from  his  ministerial  functions,  fined  £50,  and  compelled 
to  give  bonds  for  good  behavior.* 

The  first  episcopal  society  in  Boston  had  been  formed 
in  June,  1686,  by  Edward  Randolph  and  ten  others, 
and  they  had  obtained  permission  to  use  a  room  in  the 
town  hall  for  public  worship.  When  Andros  arrived,  he 
determined  to  obtain,  by  favor  or  force,  a  more  suitable 
place.  The  archbishop  of  Canterbury  had  suggested 
that  one  of  the  congregational  meeting-houses  might  be 
obtained  for  episcopalian  worship,  by  way  of  compromise 
with  the  clergy  of  that  sect,  in  exchange  for  liberty  of 
conscience.  But  when  this  proposition  was  made  known 
to  the  Boston  clergy,  they  answered  with  one  voice,  that 
they  "  could  not  consent  that  any  of  their  meeting-houses 
should  be  used  for  Common  Prayer  worship."  They 
also  refused  to  have  their  bells  tolled  for  episcopal  meet- 

*  Andros,  returning  from  an  expedition  into  Maine,  in  March,  1689,  calling 
upon  Rev.  Mr.  Higginson  of  Salem,  inquired  by  "  what  title  the  colonists  pre- 
sumed to  hold  their  lands?"  Higginson  replied,  "by  the  rights  of  occupation 
and  of  purchase  from  the  natives."  Andros  said  "the  lands  were  the  Kino-'s, 
because  he  had  given  them  only  by  a  charter,  which  the  colonists  had  violated, 
and  thus  forfeited."  Higginson  added,  that  "the  King  himself  had  no  other 
than  a  Popish  right  to  New  England,  but  that  protestants  denied  the  validity  of 
such  a  grant."  Andros,  at  length,  growing  warm,  said  "Either  you  are  his 
subjects,  or  his  rebels  !" — intimating  that  if  the  people  would  not  take  out  new 
patents  and  p?y  rents,  they  should  be  treated  as  rebels.     Felt's  Annals,  290. 


SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS.  413 

ings.     On  the  evening  of  December  22,  Mr.  Mather  and 
Mr.  Willard  waited  on  the  governor  at  his  lodgings,  and 
i(  thoroughly  discoursed  his  excellency  about  the  meeting- 
houses, in  great  plainness,  showing  they  could   not  con- 
sent to  his  demands."     The  governor,  either  from  an  un- 
willingness to  wound  their  feelings  too  rudely,  or  from 
a  fear  of  displaying  his  power  too  suddenly,  seemed  to 
say  that  he  would  not  impose  upon  them  what  was  man- 
ifestly so  disagreeable.     And  so  the  matter  was  suffered 
to  rest,  but  for  a  short  time  only.     On  the  23d  of  March, 
1687,  the  governor  sent  Mr.   Randolph   for  the  keys  of 
the  south  meeting  house,  now  called  the  Old  South,  in  or- 
der that  the  Episcopalians  might  have  prayer  there.     A 
committee  of  six,  of  whom  Chief  Justice  Sewall  was  one, 
thereupon  waited  upon  his  Excellency,  and  earnestly 
represented  to  him  that  the  house  was  their  own  private 
property,  and  to  repeat  that  they  could  not  consent  to 
part  with  it  to  such  use  as  had  been  required.     This  was 
on  Wednesday.     The  following  Friday,  which  was  Good 
Friday,  Sir  Edmund  Andros  sent  to  command  the  sexton 
of  the  South   Church  to  open  the   doors  and  ring  the 
bell,  for  the  service  of  the  Church  of  England.     The  sex- 
ton, though  he  had  resolved  not  to  do  so,  was  persuaded 
or  intimidated  into   compliance,  and  the  Governor  and 
his  party  took  possession  of  the  house,  where  the  epis- 
copal service  was  afterwards  regularly  performed   until 
he  left  the  province.* 

In  relation  to  this  matter,  which  excited  so  much 
feeling  among  the  people  of  Boston  at  the  time,  it 
may  be  said,  that  if  Andros  had  never  done  any  thing 
worse  than  introduce  the  Episcopal  mode  of  worship, 

*  Greenwood's  Hist.  King's  Chapel,  Boston,  p.  38. 


414  SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS. 

his  name  would  not  have  been  covered  with  so  much 
obloquy.  The  Puritans  of  1686,  had  as  little  charity  for 
their  christian  brethren  of  the  Church  of  England,  as 
they  had  previously  shewn  for  the  Baptists  and  Quakers. 
Hutchinson  mentions  that  this  feeling  was  carried  so  far, 
that  a  deacon  of  the  South  Church  actually  interfered 
and  prevented  the  burial  of  one  Lilly,  according  to  the 
form  prescribed  in  the  burial  service  of  the  Church. 
What  would  have  been  the  reflections  of  the  worthy  dea- 
con, could  he  have  foreseen,  that  in  less  than  a  century,  his 
own  Church  would  be  indebted  to  the  liberality  of  King's 
Chapel  for  the  privilege  of  worship?  While  the  British, 
in  the  Revolutionary  War,  made  use  of  the  Old  South 
for  a  riding  school,  or  circus,  the  South  congregation 
were  received  with  welcome  at  King's  Chapel,  and  min- 
gled with  their  Episcopalian  brethren  in  worship  at  that 
sanctuary. 

On  the  12th  January,  1687,  Andros  published  his 
commission  at  Providence,  dissolved  the  government  of 
Rhode  Island,  broke  its  seal,  and  assumed  the  adminis- 
tration. 

The  colony  of  Connecticut,  as  has  already  been  stat- 
ed, was  not  originally  included  in  Andros's  commission. 
Supplementary  instructions  were,  however,  issued  by 
the  King,  under  date  of  the  13th  September,  and  on  the 
22d  of  December,  Governor  Andros  wrote  to  Governor 
Treat,  of  Connecticut,  that  he  was  "  particularly  empow- 
ered and  authorized  to  receive  the  surrender  of  the  char- 
ter" of  that  colony. 

Connecticut  for  some  time  evaded  his  demands.  But 
on  the  13th  June,  1687,  he  sent  his  Secretary,  Randolph, 
to  Connecticut,  with  a  threatening  message,  which  that 


SIU    EDMUND    ANDROS.  415 

government  disregarding,  Andros,  with   his  suite,  and 
some  sixty  regular  troops,  repaired  in  October  to  Hart- 
ford, where  the  assembly  was  then  in  session.     Appear- 
ing before  that  body,  Governor  Andros  declared  the 
government  to  be  dissolved,  and  demanded  the  surrender 
of  the  charter.     The   assembly  was  slow  to  surrender 
the  charter,  or  to  adopt  any  motion  to  bring  it  about. 
The  tradition  is,  that  Governor  Treat  represented  the 
great  expense  and  hardships  of  the  colonists,  in  planting 
the  country;  the  blood  and  treasure  which  they  had  ex- 
pended in  defending  it,  both  against  the  savages  and  for- 
eigners; the  hardships  and  dangers  to  which  he  himself 
had  been  exposed  for  that  purpose;  and  that  it  was  giv- 
ing up  his  life,  to  surrender  the  patent  and  privileges  so 
dearly  bought,  and  so  long  enjoyed.     The  important  af- 
fair was  debated  at  large,  and  kept  in  suspense  until  the 
shades  of  evening  had  descended,  when  the  charter  was* 
brought,  and  laid  upon  the  table,  where  the  assembly 
was    sitting.     By  this  time,   great  numbers  of  people, 
sufficiently  bold  to  undertake  whatever  enterprise  might 
be  necessary  or  expedient,  were  assembled.     The  lights 
were  all  at  once  extinguished,  though   no  disorder  or 
confusion  prevailed;  and  when  re-lighted,  the  charter 
had   disappeared.      William  Wadsworth,  of   Hartford, 
stealing  noiselessly  through  the  crowd,  had  taken  away 
the  cherished  patent,  which  he  concealed  in  the  hollow 
of  an  oak,  which  is  yet  standing  to  confirm  the  tale.     Sir 
Edmund  assumed  the  government,  on  the  31st  October, 
16S7,  and  calling  for  the  records  of  the  colony,  wrote 
the  word  "  Finis,"  at  the  close  of  the  proceedings. 

Returning  to  Boston,  Governor  Andros  continued  his 
course  of  arbitrary  measures  there,  and  directed  the  ra- 


416  SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS. 

pacity  of  his  Secretary  to  the  settlements  in  Maine;  but 
that  territory  had  already  been  subjected  to  official  pil- 
lage. In  the  spring  of  1688,  Andros,  at  the  head  of  a 
body  of  seven  hundred  men,  proceeded  to  the  Penob- 
scot, against  the  Eastern  Indians,  who  retired  on  his  ap- 
proach, and  his  only  trophy  was  the  plunder  of  the  house 
and  fort  of  the  Baron  de  St.  Castine.* 

In  March,  1688,  a  new  commission  was  issued  by  the 
King,  adding  New  York  and  the  Jerseys  to  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  Anclros,  and  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  July,  the 
order  to  Governor  Dongan,  of  New  York,  to  deliver  up 
the  seal  of  the  province  to  Andros,  was  read  in  the  pro- 
vincial council,  and  placed  upon  the  records.  But  an  im- 
portant change  in  the  affairs  of  England  and  her  colonies 
was  near  at  hand. 

In  addition  to  the  real  grievances  under  which  the 
people  of  New  England  labored,  their  fears  were  excit- 
ed. They  believed  Andros  to  be  a  papist ;  that  he  had 
hired  the  Indians,  and  supplied  them  with  ammunition, 
to  destroy  their  frontier  settlements ;  and  that  he  was 
preparing  to  betray  the  country  into  the  hands  of  the 
French. f     At  the  same  time,  the  large  strides  that  King 

*  In  the  summer  of  1841,  a  quantity  of  silver  coins,  of  different  denomina- 
tions, and  varying  in  date  from  1641  to  1682,  was  found  at  Johnson's  point, 
near  the  site  of  the  old  fort,  and  residence  of  the  Baron  Castine,  supposed  to 
have  been  deposited  by  him  and  his  followers  near  the  time  when  his  settle- 
ment was  destroyed. 

f  "Revolution  in  New  England  Justified,"  pages  29,  40.  Justice  to  Sir 
Edmund  Andros  requires  it  to  be  stated  in  reply  to  the  allegations  in  "  Revolu- 
tion in  New  England  Justified,"  that  he  sent  a  letter  to  the  Justices  of  the 
Court  of  New  Hampshire,  concerning  trading  with  the  Indians,  whereupon  it 
was,  probably  in  pursuance  of  the  instructions  contained  in  it,  at  a  private  or 
special  session,  holden  on  the  28  January,  1688-9,  by  his  Majesty's  Justices, 
"Ordered,  that  no  person  within  this  Province  (of  New  Hampshire)  presume 
to  trade  with,  furnish,  or  supply,  any  Indian  or  Indians  (particularly  those  of 
Pennicook)  with   any  ammunition,  instruments  of  war,  goods,  provisions,  or 


SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS.  417 

James  the  Second  had  been  making  towards  the  estab- 
lishment of  popery  and  despotism,  excited  the  most 
terrible  apprehensions. 

The  news  of  the  landing  of  the  Prince  of  Orange 
in  England,  reached  Boston  on  the  4th  of  April,  1689. 
Andros  was  so  excited  with  alarm  at  the  news,  that  he  im- 
prisoned the  messenger,  (John  Winslow,*)  who  brought 
a  copy  of  the  Prince's  declaration  to  Boston,  and  pub- 
lished a  proclamation  commanding  all  persons  to  be  in 
readiness  to  oppose  "  any  invasion  from  Holland,"  which 
proclamation  was  utterly  disregarded. 

The  patience  of  the  people  had  long  since  been  ex- 
hausted. They  now  resolved  upon  striking  a  decisive 
blow.  On  the  morning  of  the  18th  of  April,  the  town 
of  Boston  was  in  arms,  and  the  people  from  the  country 
poured  in,  to  the  assistance  of  the  capital.  The  insur- 
rection was  general.  The  citizens  were  unanimous  in 
their  determination  to  overthrow  the  existing  government. 
Early  in  the  morning,  the  boys  were  seen  running  along 
the  streets  of  Boston,  armed  with  clubs,  encouraging  one 
another  to  fight  by  the  sides  of  their  fathers,  who  were 
gathered  in  arms  in  various  parts  of  the  city.  The  cap- 
tain of  the  Rose  frigate  was  one  of  the  first  seized  and  con- 
fined, and  the  arrest  of  others  followed.  The  drums 
began  to  beat  a  general  summons  to  the  multitude  to 
gather  near  the  fort,  when  Andros  sent  a  messenger  re- 

any  thing  whatsoever.  And  whosoever  can  give  any  information  of  any  per- 
son or  persons  that  have  already  supplied  and  furnished  the  said  Indians  with 
ammunition,  or  instruments  of  war,  they  are  desired  forthwith  to  give  notice 
thereof  to  the  next  Justice  of  the  Peace,  that  they  may  be  secured,  and  pro- 
ceeded against  with  all  severity."  Records  of  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions, 
held  at  Great  Island,  New  Hampshire,  in  1688-9. 
*  See  p.  133,  of  this  volume. 

53 


418  SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS. 

questing  four  of  the  ministers  to  come  to  him  at  the  fort, 
to  act  as  mediators  between  him  and  the  people.  The 
ministers  did  not  consider  it  safe  to  do  so,  and  declined. 
By  this  time  the  multitude  had  secured  all  the  obnoxious 
persons  about  town,  and  Andros  was  summoned  to  sur- 
render.* The  frigate,  now  commanded  by  its  lieutenant, 
made  preparations  for  battle,  but  the  commander,  who 
was  in  custody,  sent  him  word  to  forbear,  as  all  who  had 
been  arrested  would  be  put  to  death,  should  he  fire  upon 
the  people.  Andros  now  endeavoured  to  escape  on 
board  the  frigate,  but  his  retreat  had  already  been  cut 
off  by  the  multitude,  who  were  approaching  on  both  sides 
of  the  fort.  The  lower  battery  was  deserted  by  the  reg- 
ulars, who  fled  up  the  hill  into  the  fort;  and  such  was 
their  panic  at  the  appearance  of  the  multitude  before 
them,  that,  though  the  cannons  were  charged  with  grape, 
they  did  not  fire  a  gun.  The  people  marched  up  to  the 
mouths  of  the  cannon.  Capt.  John  Nelson,  a  merchant  of 
Boston,  entered  the  fort,  and  made  the  second  demand 
for  Andros  to  surrender.  Sir  Edmund,  finding  resistance 
useless,  surrendered  to  Capt.  Nelson,  and  was  conduct- 
ed under  guard  to  the  house  of  John  Usher.  Here  he  re- 
mained for  a  short  time,  until  the  people  began  to  clamor 
for  his  imprisonment  in  a  place  of  greater  security. 
Nothing  would  satisfy  them  but  binding  the  Governor 
with  cords,  and  carrying  him  to  a  safe  place.  Capt.  Dan- 
iel,Fisher,  of  Dedham,  whose  father  had  suffered  great 
indignity  from  Andros,  was  soon  seen  among  the  crowd, 
leading  the  pale  and  trembling  Sir  Edmund  by  the  collar 
of  his  coat,  from  the  house  of  Usher,  back  to  Fort  Hill. 
The  revolution  was  complete.     A  declaration,  defending 

""  See  pp.  385— 387,  of  thig  volume. 


SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS.  419 

the  insurrection,  was  publicly  read ;  the  old  magistrates 
were  reinstated  as  a  Council  of  Safety ;  and  the  venera- 
ble Governor  Bradstreet  was  made  their  president.  On 
the  29th  May,  William  and  Mary  were  proclaimed  King 
and  Queen  at  Boston.* 

Andros  and  his  accomplices,  in  the  meantime,  re- 
mained in  confinement,  until  the  pleasure  of  the  king 
and  queen  could  be  made  known.  Andros  on  one  occasion 
managed  to  elude  the  vigilance  of  his  keepers,  and  escap- 
ed, but  was  soon  after  taken  in  Rhode  Island,  and  again 
conducted  to  prison.f  On  the  30th  of  July,  William 
III.  issued  an  order  for  the  immediate  conveyance  of 
Andros,  Randolph  and  others  to  England,  "  to  answer 
what  may  be  objected  against  them."  The  order  was 
not  received  until  near  the  close  of  the  year,  and  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1690,  they  were  sent  home  to  England. 

In  considering  their  case,  the  king  was  placed  in  an 
awkward  dilemma.  If  he  condemned  the  conduct  of 
Andros,  and  sanctioned  the  proceedings  of  the  colonists, 
it  might  be  used  as  an  argument  and  precedent  in  favor 
of  future  insurrections.  On  the  other  hand,  to  approve 
the  course  of  Andros,  and  censure  the  acts  of  the  people, 
would  be  condemning  the  very  same  course  which  had 
produced  the  revolution  in  England,  and  elevated  him- 
self to  the  throne.  |  The  case  was  therefore  summarily 
disposed   of.     The   colonists   were   confirmed   in  their 

*  See  Byfield's  "Account  of  the  Late  Revolution  in  New  England;"  and 
"  Revolution  in  New  England  Justified."  [Both  these  rare  tracts  are  re-print- 
ed, from  originals,  in  the  4th  volume  of  Force's  Tracts.]  Compare  also  Hutch- 
inson's Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  373 — 382,  and  Bancroft,  ii.  447. 

t  Byfield,  in  his  Account  of  the  Revolution,  says  Andros  attempted  "to  es- 
cape in  women's  apparel,  and  passed  two  guards,  and  was  stopped  at  the  third,  be- 
ing discovered  by  his  shoes,  not  having  changed  them." 

t  See  extracts  from  letter  of  Elisha  Cooke,  in  Hutchinson's  Colony  of  Mass, 
Bay,  394. 


420  SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS. 

rights.  Andros  was  released,  and  though  generally  re- 
garded as  a  bad  man  and  magistrate,  he  still  contrived  to 
retain  a  degree  of  influence  at  home. 

In  1692,  a  little  more  than  two  years  after  his  dis- 
grace at  Boston,  he  was  appointed  by  William  III.  gov- 
ernor of  the  province  of  Virginia,  in  which  office  he 
remained  until  he  was  superseded  by  Nicholson,  in  1698. 
Andros  arrived  in  Virginia  in  Feb.  1 692.  Beverly,  Burk, 
and  other  historians  of  that  colony,  represent  him  to  have 
been  actuated  in  his  administration  by  a  sound  judgment 
and  liberal  policy — to  have  been  exact,  diligent  and 
methodical  in  the  management  of  business,  and  of  great 
public  generosity.  Beverly  says  he  was  "a  great  en- 
courager  of  manufactures.  He  also  gave  particular  marks 
of  favor  towards  the  propagation  of  cotton,  afterwards 
so  much  neglected.  He  was  a  great  lover  of  method — 
caused  all  the  loose  and  torn  records  in  the  public  of- 
fices, which  were  of  any  value,  to  be  transcribed  into  new 
books — took  measures  for  their  preservation,  and  for  re- 
ducing them  to  such  order  that  they  could  at  once  be 
referred  to.  The  public  offices  were  burnt  in  October, 
1698,  just  before  his  term  of  office  expired,  but  the  pa- 
pers were  saved.  By  great  diligence,  he  got  them  all 
properly  arranged  before  he  left  the  government.  He 
made  offers  to  rebuild  the  public  edifice  at  his  own  ex- 
pense in  part,  and  would  have  done  so,  had  he  not  been 
superseded."*  Whether  Andros,  in  his  last  government 
in  America,  found  a  people  in  spirit  more  congenial  with 
his  own,  or,  what  is  more  probable,  had  learned  wisdom 
from  misfortune,  it  is  certain  that  few  governors  of  Vir- 
ginia were  more  generally  beloved.     He  returned  to 

•  Beverly,  sec.  142,  p.  90.     Burk,  ii.  316. 


SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS.  421 

England  in  1699,  was  governor  of  the  Island  of  Guern- 
sey, from  1704  to  1706,  and  died  in  London  in  Februa- 
ry, 1714,  Douglas  says,  "at  a  very  advanced  age."  He 
was  82,  at  the  time  of  his  death.  His  wife  died  at  Bos- 
ton, according  to  Sewall,  in  February,  1688.* 

History  has  done  no  more  than  justice  to  Andros,  in 
stamping  him  with  the  character  of  a  tyrant.  Oldmixon, 
in  1741,  said  he  "was  a  man  of  as  mean  a  character  as 
fortune,"  and  that  it  was  a  matter  of  amazement  that 
such  a  man  should  have  been  continued  in  office  after  the 
revolution.  Smith,  the  historian  of  New  York,  says  of 
Andros,  that  "  he  knew  no  law  but  the  will  of  his  master, 
and  Kirke  and  Jeffries  were  not  fitter  instruments  than 
he  to  execute  the  despotic  projects  of  James  II." 

The  family  of  Andros  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  upon 
the  Island,  and  descendants  were  living  in  Guernsey  and 
Alderney,  as  late  as  1798.  John  Andros,  the  ancestor 
of  Governor  Andros,  was,  from  1582  to  1607,  one  of  the 
twelve  jurats  or  judges,  who,  with  the  bailiff,  composed 
the  Royal  Court  of  the  Island — an  office  which  contin- 
ued in  some  of  the  family  name  down  to  as  late  a  period 
as  1705.  Amice  Andros,  the  father  of  Sir  Edmund,  was 
bailiff  of  the  Island  from'1660  to  his  death,  on  the  7th 
April,   1674,  aet.  64.     In  the  inscription  upon  a  mural 

*  There  is  something  striking  in  the  few  words  of  Judge  Sewall's  description 
of  what  he  witnessed  at  Lady  Andros's  funeral.  "  Between  4  and  5,  Feb.  10th, 
I  went  to  the  funeral  of  the  Lady  Andros,  having  been  invited  by  the  dark  of 
the  South  Company.  Between  7  and  8,  (lychns  [torches]  illuminating  the  clou- 
dy air)  the  corpse  was  carried  into  the  herse  drawn  by  six  horses,  the  soldiers 
making  a  guard  from  the  governor's  house  down  the  Prison  Lane  to  the  South 
meeting-house  ;  there  taken  out  and  carried  in  at  the  western  door,  and  set  in 
the  alley  before  the  pulpit,  with  six  mourning  women  by  it.  House  made  light 
with  candles  and  torches.     There  was  a  great  noise  and  clamor  to  keep  people 

out  of  the  house,  that  they  might  not  rush  in  too  soon.     I  went  home."— MS. 

Diary  of  Judge  Sewall. 


422  SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS. 

monument  in  the  church  of  St.  Martin's,  Guernsey,  over 
the  remains  of  Amice  Andros,  Esq.  he  is  styled  "  Seig- 
neur of  Sausmares  and  Jerbourg,  Hereditary  Steward  of 
the  Island,  Lieutenant  of  Ceremonies  in  the  Courts  of 
Charles  I.  and  II.,  Judge  of  the  Royal  Court  of  Guern- 
sey, and  Major  General  of  the  Forces  of  the  Isle,"  &c. 
After  his  death,  the  office  of  bailiff  was  filled  by  his  son, 
Edmund  Andros,  until  his  departure  for  New  York,  in 
August,  1 674.  The  Seigniory  or  Lordship  of  Sausmares, 
is  of  Norman  origin  and  great  antiquity  in  the  Island. 
The  fief  became  vested  in  the  family  of  Andros,  by  inter- 
marriages with  that  of  Sausmares. 

The  fief  or  manor  of  Anneville,  granted  by  Henry 
VIII.,  to  Nicholas  Fachin,  remained  for  some  time  in 
that  family,  and  then  descended  to  that  of  Andros,  who 
possessed  it  in  1675.  It  consisted  of  some  27  farms  and 
tenants. 

The  late  major  general  Brock,  of  the  British  army, 
who  fell  in  the  battle  of  Queenstown,  U.  C.  13th  Oct. 
1812,  was  a  descendant  of  the  Andros  family. 


END  OF  VOLUME  FIRST. 


INDEX. 


Abbot,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  12. 

Abigail,  ship,  348. 

Acadie,  settlements  in,  9.    Destroyed  by 

the  English,  198. 
Accomack,  Plymouth,  38. 
Adams,  Thomas,  240. 
Acorns,  settlers  live  upon,  246. 
Acts  of  trade  resisted,  373. 
Adams,  Helen,  137. 
Adams,  John,  of  Plymouth,  137. 
Addington,  Isaac,  386. 
Agavvam.     See  Ipswich. 
Agawam,  "Simple  Cobler  of,"  177. 
Alden,  John,  26,  46,  72,  109,  132,  134, 

140,  143,  156,  157.     Notice  of,  203. 
Alden,  President  Timothy,  203. 
Aldersey,  Samuel,  240. 
Alexander,  Sir  William,  grant  to,  235. 
Alexander,  son  and  successor  of  Mas- 
sasoit,  162.     Charged  with  hostile  in- 
tentions,   163.      Arrest    and    sudden 
death  of,  164,  166,  179.     "  Narrative 
de  Alexandre,"  165. 
Allerton,  Isaac,  26,  45.     Notice  of,  54. 
Assistant  to  the  governor,  55,  65,  71, 
72,  140. 
Allerton,  John,  26. 
Allerton,  Mary,  54. 
Allerton,  Mary  Cushman,  last  survivor 

of  the  Mayflower,  46. 
Allin,  Rev.  John,  294,  390. 
America,   Winslow's   advice,    as   to    fit 
persons  to  come  over  to,  108.     Dud- 
ley's do.,  281. 
Amsterdam,    English    puritans    at,    13. 

Ships  from,  279. 
Anabaptists,  persecution  of,  343.     Pub- 
lic conference  with,  343. 
Andover,  settlement    of,  378. 
Andrews,  Richard,  72. 
Andros,  Amice,  421.  422. 
Andros,  Sir  Edmund,  his  birth  and  fam- 
ily, 403.     A   favorite  of  the   Duke  of 
York,   403.     Appointed   Governor  of 
New    York,    403.     Arrest  of    Capt. 
Manning,    404.     Vested    with    large 
powers,  404.     Undertakes  to  regulate 
religious  affairs,  405.     duarrels  with 
the    Albany    magistrates,    405.     Re- 
quires surrender  of  Long  Island  settle- 
ments, 406.     His  expedition  to  Hart- 
ford,   406.     Outmanaged   by   a  Con- 


necticut  captain,  407.     Gives  up  his 
enterprise  and  returns,  408.     Advice 
to   King  James   about  an  assembly, 
408.     Claims    tribute  from   ships   of 
New    Jersey,    and    imprisons    their 
governor,  409.     Returns  to  England, 
and   is   superseded,  >409.     Appointed 
Governor  of  New  England,  212,  409. 
His  arrival  and  reception,  410.     His 
arbitrary     conduct,     385,     411—414. 
His  letter  of  reproof  to  Gov.  Hinck- 
ley, 211.     Opposed  by  Gov.  Hinck- 
ley,  214.     Takes  possession   of    the 
South  Church  in  Boston,  413.     Dis- 
solves the  government  of  Rhode  Isl- 
and, 414.     Proceeds  to  Hartford,  and 
assumes  the  government  there,   415. 
Visits  Maine,  and  plunders  the  house 
of   the    Baron    de   St.  Castine,    416. 
New  York  and  New  Jersey  added  to 
his   government,    416.     People  deter- 
mine upon   his   overthrow,  385,  417. 
Alarmed  by  news  of  Revolution   in 
England,   133,   417.     Insurrection    in 
Boston  against,  417.     Is  deposed  and 
imprisoned,     216,    418.     Declaration 
against,    386.     Is    denied    bail,    394. 
Escapes,   and   is   retaken,  419.     Sent 
home  to  England,  419.     Escapes  fur- 
ther punishment,   419.     Governor  of 
Virginia,  in  which  his  administration 
is  popular,  420.     Returns  to  England, 
and  is  Governor  of  the  Isle  of  Guern- 
sey, 421.     Death  of,  421.     Notices  of 
his  family,  421,  422. 

Andros,  John  421. 

Anecdotes  of  Winfhrop,  248.  Of  Crom- 
well and  Wheelwright,  288.  Of  the 
Pope  and  the  quaker,  161.  Of  Rev. 
Mr.  Witherell,  196. 

Anneville,  manor  of,  422. 

Anselm,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  359. 

Antinomians,  doctrines  of,  254, 319.  Op- 
posed by  the  clergy,  255,  288.  De- 
nounced by  Synod'at  Cambridge,  257. 
Adherents  banished,  257,  287,  356. 

Apannow,  submission  of,  57. 

Apaum,  Plymouth,  45. 

Appleton,  Major  Samuel,  185,  188. 

Arbella,  shin,' 243,  267,  277. 

Army  raised  against  the  Narragansetts ■, 
185. 


424 


INDEX. 


Arrows,  sent  as  a  challenge,  60. 

Ashurst,  Sir  Henry,  218,  220.  Sole 
agent  of  New  Plymouth,  221. 

Ashley,  Edward,  agent  at  Penobscot, 
74. 

Assembly  of  Divines,  239,  323. 

Assistants,  in  New  Plymouth,  number 
increased,  78,  110.  Powers  of,  145. 
First  court  of  in  Massachusetts,  245. 

Associates,  New  Plymouth,  26,  45. 

Association  against  wearing  long  hair, 
359. 

Aspinet,  sachem  of  Nauset,  56. 

Aspinwall,  William,  banished,  257. 

Baldwin,  Judge  Henry,  232. 

Bancroft,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
12. 

Bancroft,  George,  cited,  386,  401. 

Barker,  Isaac,  174. 

Barnstable,  or  Cummaquid,  30.  Under 
Massasoit,  58. 

Battle  of  Narragansett  Swamp,  187.  With 
Pequots,  303. 

Baylies,  Francis,  memoirs  of  New  Ply- 
mouth, cited,  195.     Q.uoted,  227—230. 

Beauchamp,  John,  72. 

Beaver,  trade  in,  111. 

Bellingham,  Elizabeth,  335. 

Bellingham,  Penelope,  346. 

Bellingham,  Richard,  birth  and  educa- 
tion, 335.  Arrives  in  Boston,  335. 
Deputy,  assistant,  and  treasurer,  335. 
Johnson's  notice  of,  335.  One  of  the 
military  council,  286.  Deputy  gover- 
nor, 336.  Chosen  governor,  253,  289, 
336,  341.  Is  censured  by  Winthrop, 
338.  Takes  the  part  of  a  poor  miller 
against  Dudley,  338.  Offends  the  peo- 
ple by  marrying  a  young  lady,  and 
Jerforming  the  ceremony  himself,  339. 
s  indicted  for  the  offence,  and  sum- 
moned to  answer;  but  refuses,  and  the 
matter  is  dropped,  339.  He  is  left  out  of 
office,  339.  Takes  the  part  of  a  poor 
woman  against  a  rich  neighbor,  which 
sets  the  colony  by  the  ears,  340.  Op- 
poses persecution,  341.  Charter  pla- 
ced in  his  hands,  for  safe  keeping,  341, 
371.  Ordered  to  England,  by  the  King, 
342.  Evades  the  order,  and  pacifies 
the  King,  343.  Takes  part  in  a  dispute 
with  the  anabaptists,  344.  Opposes 
establishment  of  new  church  in  Boston, 

344.  His  sister  hung  for  a  witch,  or 
"for  having  more  wit  than  her  neigh- 
bors," 344.     His  death  and  character, 

345.  Notice  of  his  family,  346. 
Bellingham,  Rev.  Samuel,  346. 
Bentley,  Rev.  William,  351. 
Bernard,  Lord,  334. 
Billingsgate  Point,  Wellfleet,  32. 
Billington,  Francis,  discovers  Billington 

Sea,  39. 


Billington,  Jolyi,  26.  Executed  for  mur- 
der, 83. 

Bishop,  Joseph,  365. 

Blackstone,  William,  first  settler  of  Bos- 
ton, 236. 

Blagge,  Edward,  130. 

Blaithwaite,  Mr.  205,  214. 

Board  of  Trade  and  Plantations,  records 
of,  cited,  400. 

Boston,  first  visit  to,  59.  Settled,  236, 
245,  247.     Sachem  of,  58. 

Boston  Harbor,  or  Bay  of  Massachusetts, 
Governor  Bradford's  visit  to,  59. 

Boyes,  Antipas,  133. 

Bradford,  Hon.  Alden,  notice  of,  90. 

Bradford,  Dorothy,  wife  of  Gov.  Brad- 
ford, drowned,  54. 

Bradford,  Col.  Gamaliel,  90. 

Bradford,  Joseph,  son  of  Gov.  B.,  notice 
of,  89. 

Bradford,  Mercy,  89. 

Bradford,  William,  his  birth  and  educa- 
tion, 49.  Joins  Robinson's  and  Clif- 
ton's church,  49.  Imprisoned,  51.  Re- 
moves to  Holland,  53.  Accused  as  a 
fugitive,  53.  Apprentice  to  a  silk-dyer, 
53.  Unsuccessful  in  trade,  53.  Ac- 
companies pilgrims  to  New  England, 
26, 53.  Makes  an  excursion  from  Cape 
Cod  Harbor,  28,  53.  Sick  when  store 
house  was  burnt,  38.  His  wife  drown- 
ed, 54.  Chosen  Governor  of  New 
Plymouth,  54,  140.  Sends  an  embas- 
sy to  Massasoit,  55.  Sends  party  to 
Nauset,  to  recover  a  boy,  56.  Anoth- 
er to  Bay  of  Massachusetts,  59.  Re- 
ceives a  threatening  message  from  Can- 
onicus,  60.  Makes  a  voyage  for  corn, 
&c,  62,  63.  Sends  message  to  Mas- 
sasoit in  his  sickness,  64.  Receives 
intelligence  of  a  conspiracy  of  the  In- 
dians, 64.  Adopts  measures  of  defence, 
65.  Negotiates  with  the  adventurers 
in  England,  71.  Surrenders  the  pat- 
ent to  the  colony,  74.  His  death,  79. 
His  character,  79,  80.  His  history  of 
the  colony  recovered  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Young,  80.  Part  of  his  letter-book 
found  at  Halifax,  and  published,  80. 
Other  compositions,  81,  82.  His  dis- 
creet course  towards  offenders,  83.  De- 
cisive proceedings  with  Lyford  and 
Oldham,  85—87.  Notices  of  his  de- 
scendants, 88—92,  151. 

Bradford,  William,  son  of  Gov.  B.,  no- 
tice of,  and  of  his  descendants,  88 — 91, 
165,  185,  214,  226. 

Bradford,  Hon.  William,  of  R.  I.,  notice 
of,  91. 

Bradford's  History,  recovered  by  Rev. 
A.  Young,  80. 

Bradstreet,  Anne,  poems  of,  295,  388. 

Bradstreet,  Dudley,  385,  389. 


INDEX. 


425 


Bradford's   History,  recovered  by  Rev. 

A.  Young;,  80. 
Bradstreet,  Anne,  poem  of,  295,  388. 
Bradstreet,  Dudley,  385,  389. 
Bradstreet,  Simon,  birth  and  education, 

377.  In  the  family  of  the  Earl  of 
Lincoln,  377,  and  of  the  Countess  of 
"Warwick,  378.  Marries  the  daugh- 
ter of  Governor  Dudley,  and  comes  to 
New  England  in  the  fleet  with  Win- 
throp,  378.    Settles  at  Newtown,  283, 

378.  Signs  declaration  against  wear- 
ing long  hair,  359.  Secretary  of  the 
colony,  378.  One  of  the  military 
council,  286.  Visits  Dover,  to  settle  a 
dispute,  379.  Commissioner  of  the 
United  Colonies,  379.  More  liberal 
in  principle  than  his  associates,  380. 
Opposes  the  witchcraft  delusion,  381. 
Treats  with  settlers  of  Maine,  382. 
Defends  the  rights  of  the  colony,  382. 
Sent  to  England  as  an  agent;  is  success- 
ful, but  censured  by  the  colonists,  as 
having  yielded  too  much,  383.  Coun- 
sels submission  to  the  King,  as  the 
wisest  course,  384.  Chosen  governor, 
and  is  in  office  when  James  II.  dissolves 
the  charter,  384.  Named  as  counsel- 
lor under  Dudley,  but  refuses  to  act, 
385.  A  leader  of  the  people  on  the 
overthrow  of  Andros,  385.  His  sum- 
mons to  Andros  to  surrender,  385.  Is 
again  in  the  chair  of  state,  387,  419. 
His  death  and  character,  387.  Inscrip- 
tion on  his  tomb,  387.  Notices  of  his 
descendants,  388—389. 

Bradstreet,  Rev.  Simon,  388,  389. 

Braintree,  settlement  of,  236. 

Brattle,  Thomas,  133,  481. 

Brenton,  Admiral  Jahleel,  229. 

Brenton,  Gov.  William,  229. 

Brereton,  John,  at  Cape  Cod,  22. 

Brewster,  Elder  William,  24,26,45,  54, 
68,  72,  92,  140,  174, 175. 

Brewster,  Fear,  54. 

Brewster,  Patience,  173. 

Brewster's  Islands,  367,  374. 

Bridges,  Robert,  359. 

Britterige,  Richard,  26. 

Brooke,  Lord,  269. 

Browne,  John,  240,  350. 

Brown,  Peter,  26. 

Brown,  Robert,  a  zealous  separatist,  11. 

Browne,  Samuel,  240,  350. 

Brown,  William,  386. 

Budington,  Rev.  William  I.,  388. 

Bull,  Capt.  Thomas,  his  resistance  of 
Andros,  406. 

Burial  Hill,  in  Plymouth,  41,  92.  Forti- 
fied, 61.     Artillery  planted  on,  61. 

Burdet,  George,  378. 

Burnet,  Bishop,  cited,  333. 

Burnet,  Gov.  William,  389. 

54 


Bushheag,  a  Waranoke  or  Westfield  In- 
dian, 309. 
Butler's  Hudibras,  cited,  84. 

c. 

Callender,  John,  cited,  56. 
Cambridge,  Synod  at,  256. 
Camden,   William,   "Remaines"  cited, 

294. 
Canada,  first  settlement  in  9.     River  of, 

404. 
Canonicus,  messenger  from,  with  hostile 

message,  60. 
Capawock,  Martha's  Vineyard,  58. 
Cape  Anne,  plantation  at,  111,  238.     Re- 
moval to  Salem,  236,  238. 
Cape  Cod  discovered  by  Gosnold,  22. 

Explored  by  Pilgrims,  29,  93. 
Cape  James.     See  Cape  Cod. 
Careswell,  in  Marshfield,  seat  of  Gov. 
Winslow,  131.     Named  from  a  castle 
in  Staffordshire,  131. 
Carleton,  Sir  Dudley,  on  the  Sabbath  in 

Holland,  14. 
Carpenter,  Alice,  88 
Cartaret,  Sir  George,  409. 
Cartaret,  Philip,  409. 
Carver,  Elizabeth,  46. 
Carver,  Jasper,  46. 

Carver,  John,  appointed  agent  to  the  En- 
glish  settlers  at  Leyden,  13,  15,  17. 
Superintends  the  equipments  for  emi- 
gration, 19.     Chosen  governor  of  the 
company,  25,  54,  140.     Makes  an  ex- 
cursion from  Cape  Cod  to  look  for  a 
harbor,  32.    Skirmish  with  the  natives, 
34.     Lands  on  Clark's  Island,  35.    Re- 
turns to  the  ship,  36.     Makes  a  set- 
tlement at  Plymouth,  37.     His  sick- 
ness, 38.     His  recovery  and  visit  to 
Billington   Sea,    39.      His ?  interview 
with  Massasoit,  44,  94.     His  death, 
46,  92.     His  character,  47,  48.     His 
posterity,  46.     His  sword  and  other 
relics  preserved,  48. 
Carver,  Jonathan,  the  traveller,  47. 
Carver,  William,  47. 
Castine,  Baron  de  St.,  416. 
Cattle,  first  brought  into  New  England, 

109. 
Caunbatant,  submission  of,  57,  58,  102, 

103. 
Cawnacome,  sachem  of  Manomet,  sub- 
mission of,  57,  58. 
Centennial  feast,  at  Plymouth,  68. 
Charity,  arrival  of  ship,  61,  109. 
Charles  I.,  76,  201, 247, 324.     Beheaded, 

325,  335,  349. 
Charles  II.,  162.     Letter  of,  to  New  Ply- 
mouth, 168.     Rye-house  plot  against, 
206.     Restoration   of,  332,   333,    360, 
372,  382,   403.     Mandamus    of,  for- 


426 


INDEX. 


bidding;  further  persecution  of  Qua- 
kers, 358. 

Charlestown,  first  settled,  236,  245,  280. 
First  Court  at,  378.  Church  estab- 
lished at,  245. 

Charter,  efforts  of  New  Plymouth  to  ob- 
tain, 192.  Of  Connecticut,  192.  Of 
New  Plymouth,  119.  New,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, 226. 

Chichester,  Earl  of,  315. 

Chikkatabak,  submission  of,  57, 58.  Vis- 
its settlers,  246. 

Child,  Maj.  John,  124.  His  "New  En- 
gland's Jonas,"  126.  Winslow's 
"New  England's  Salamander,"  in  an- 
swer, 127. 

Child,  Dr.  Robert,  notice  of,  124,  262. 

Chilton,  James,  26,  132. 

Chilton,  Mary,  first  female  who  landed 
from  the  May-flower,  132,  135. 

Christian  Charity,  Winthrop's  "Modell 
of,"  267. 

Chronicles  of  the  Pilgrims,  Young's, 
cited,  82. 

Church,  Major  Benj.  90,  185,  188,  189, 
218. 

Church,  first  in  Charlestown  and  Boston, 
245.  At  Plymouth,  proposed  remo- 
val of,  151.  Records  of,  173.  At  Sa- 
lem, founded,  350. 

Clap,  Capt.  Roger,  cited,  246. 

Clare,  Earl  of,  334.  _ 

Clarendon,  Lord,  his  character  of  Vane, 
254. 

Clark,  Nathaniel,  counsellor  of  Andros, 
imprisoned,  216. 

Clarke,  Richard,  of  Plymouth,  26. 

Clark,  Richard,  of  Boston,  135. 

Clark,  Thomas,  371. 

Clark's  Island,  pilgrims  at,  35.  Given 
away  by  Andros,  and  reclaimed,  216. 
Described,  216. 

Cleaves, 247. 

Cleveland,  Duke  of,  334. 

Clifton,  Rev.  Richard,  12,  49. 

Clopton,  Thomasin,  268. 

Clopton,  William,  268. 

Coddington,  William,  286. 

Codfish  in  Cape  Cod  harbour,  22. 

Coggan,  John,  268. 

Coins  found  at  Johnson's  point,  near 
old  fort  Castine,  416. 

Cold  Harbor,  in  Truro,  30. 

Cole's  Hill,  in  Plymouth,  41. 

Collier,  Mary,  174. 

Collier,  William,  90,  143,  166,  174. 

Commissioners,  Royal,  visit  New  Ply- 
mouth, 167.  Their  favorable  report, 
168.  Visit  to,  and  reception  of,  in 
Mass.  342,  360.  Of  United  Colonies, 
request  of,  to  Rhode  Island,  to  ex- 
pel Cluakers,  161.  Answered  by 
Rhode  Island,  161. 


Committee  of  Safety,  Parliamentary,  332. 
At  Boston,  on  the  expulsion  of  An- 
dros, 419. 

Common  House,  at  Plymouth,  37,  38, 

Community  of  goods,  17,  69. 

Compact  of  the  Pilgrims,  25. 

Conant,  Roger,  settles  Cape  Anne,  238. 

Confederation  of  N.  E.  Colonies,  119. 
Articles  of,  120.     Re-organized,  171. 

Congregational  Church,  first  in  America, 
230. 

Connecticut,  explored  by  Winslow,  113. 
Settlement  of  opposed  by  Winthrop, 
113.  Trading  house  at,  113.  Threat- 
ened resistance  of  the  Dutch,  114. 
Disturbances  at,  141.  First  house  in, 
148.  Settlement  of,  269,  300.  Char- 
ter of,  192,  269.  Emigration  from 
Newtown  to,  300.  Sufferings  of  set- 
tlers, 305.  Constitution  established, 
306.  First  governor  of,  chosen,  307. 
Visited  by  Andros,  406.  Submits  to 
Andros,414.  Charter of,concealed,415. 

Cooke,  Elisha,  220,  386,  419. 

Cook,  Francis,  26. 

Cook,  Joseph, 312. 

Copford  Hall,  297,  311. 

Copley,  John  S.,  135 

Coppin,  Robert,  pilot,  32,  34. 

Copp's  Hill,  in  Boston,  visited,  59. 

Corbett,  Abraham,  arrest  of,  371. 

Corbitant.     See  Caunbatant. 

Corlet,  Elijah,  390. 

Corn.     See  Indian  Com. 

Cotta  Island,  364. 

Cotton,  Rev.  John,  of  Boston,  127,  257, 
265,  276,  288,  289,  297,  367. 

Cotton,  Rev.  John,  of  Plymouth,  129, 
146,  221. 

Cotton,  John,  Esq.,  171. 

Council  of  Plymouth  established,  9, 
70,  235.  Charter  of,  surrendered  to 
Charles  I.  76. 

Council  of  State,  in  England,  325,  331. 

Council  of  War,  in  New  Plymouth,  176. 

Counsellors,  under  Andros,  214.  Under 
Massachusetts  charter,  226. 

Courts,  established  at  Plymouth,  75. 

Coytmore,  Thomas,  268 

Coytmore,  Martha,  268. 

Crackston,  John,  26.  ' 

Cradock,  George,  348. 

Cradock,  Matthew,  236.  Governor  of 
the  Massachusetts  Company  in  Eng- 
land, 239.     Notice  of,  348. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  64,  129,  324,326,  382. 
Expedition  against  West  Indies,  130, 
270.     Anecdote  of,  288. 

Cromwell,  Richard,  327,  328,  329,  330. 
Abdicates,  331. 

Cross,  cut  from  the  flag  at  Salem,  353. 

Crown  Point,  expedition  against,  199. 

Cudworth,  General  James,  153.  Notice 


INDEX. 


427 


of,  154,  161,  178,  202,  203,  208. 

Cummaquid,  Barnstable,  58. 

Cushman,  Robert,  15,  17,  19,  109.  Ar- 
rives in  the  Fortune,  139. 

Cutts,  Lord,  396. 

D. 

Dalton,  Samuel,  379. 

Danforth,  Thomas,  371,  386,  394. 

Darcy,  Francis,  314. 

Darcy,  Thomas,  314. 

Darlington,  Earl  of,  334. 

Davenport,  Capt.,  185,  187,  190. 

Davenport,  Rev.  John,  344. 

Davis,  Benjamin,  137. 

Davis,  Judge  John,  cited,  129,  171,  213, 
294. 

Davis,  Mary,  137. 

Declaration  of  Rights  in  New  Plymouth, 
first  in  America,  144.  In  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  382,  383. 

Deer  trap,  28.  Mr.  Bradford  caught  in, 
29. 

Delfthaven,  parting  at,  20. 

Denbigh,  Baron  of,  274. 

Dennison,  Gen.  Daniel,  notice  of,  295. 

Dermer,  Capt.  Thomas,  cited,  43. 

Dexter,  Thomas,  of  Lynn,  352. 

Discovery,  ship,  61. 

Discussion,  public,  on  toleration,  propos- 
ed by  Roger  Williams,  169.  Declined 
by  Gov.  Prence,  170. 

Divines,  Assembly  of,  239,  323. 

Dongan,  Gov.  Thomas,  of  N.  Y.  408, 
409,  416. 

Dorchester  Company,  at  Cape  Anne, 
361. 

Dorchester,  Lord,  240. 

Dort,  Synod  of,   14. 

Dotey,  Edward,  26.  Punished  for  duel- 
ling, 85. 

Dover,  riotous  proceedings  at,  379. 

Downam,  John,  128. 

Downing,  Emanuel,  388. 

Drake,  Samuel  G.  43.  His  Book  of  In- 
dians cited,  179,  189,  246. 

Drury,  John, 128. 

Dubuc,  Jemima,  136. 

Dudley,  Ambrose,  274. 

Dudley,  Anne,  295,  278,  388. 

Dudley,  Deborah,  296. 

Dudley,  Edmund,  273. 

Dudley,  Lord  Guilford,  274. 

Dudley,  John ,  Duke  of  Northumberland , 
273. 

Dudley,  Joseph,  his  birth  and  education, 
390.  Early  employments,  390.  In 
Narragansett  campaign ,  39 1 .  Is  sent  as 
agent  to  England,  391.  His  intrigues, 
392.  Appointed  President  of  New 
England,  392.  Is  superseded  by  An- 
dros,  made  president  of  his  Council, 


and  chief  justice,  393.  Hated  by  the 
people,  and  imprisoned  on  the  over- 
throw of  Andros,  393,  394.  His  suf- 
ferings in  prison,  395.  Is  denied  bail, 
and  ordered  to  be  sent  to  England  for 
trial,  394.  Conciliates  the  royal  favor, 
and  is  made  chief  justice  of  New 
York,  395.  Is  superseded,  and  goes  a 
third  time  to  England,  396.  Is  de- 
puty governor  of  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
and  Member  of  Parliament,  396. 
Supplants  Sir  William  Phips,  and 
returns  as  governor  of  Massachusetts 
and  New  Hampshire,  396.  Quarrels 
with  the  assembly  in  Massachusetts, 

396.  Complains  of  democracy  of  the 
people,   397.     Negatives  counsellors, 

397.  Visitto  Pemaquid,  398.  Confer- 
ence with  eastern  Indians,  398.  The 
friend  of  Harvard  College,  399.  Su- 
perseded by  Gov.  Shute,  399.  His 
administration  popular  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, 400.  Assists  the  Huguenots,  401. 
Death  and  character,  401.  Notice  of 
his  family,  402. 

Dudley,  Mercy,  296. 

Dudley,  Patience,  295. 

Dudley,  Hon.  Paul,  397,  402. 

Dudley,  Paul,  296. 

Dudley,  Robert,  Earl  of  Leicester,  274. 

Dudley,  Capt.  Roger,  275. 

Dudley,  Thomas,  his  birth  and  early 
employments,  273.  Some  of  his  family 
claim  descent  from  the  Duke  of  Nor- 
thumberland, 273.  In  the  family  of 
the  Earl  of  Northampton,  275.  Cap- 
tain in  French  service  at  the  siege  of 
Amiens,  275.  Becomes  steward  to  the 
Earl  of  Lincoln,  276.  One  of  the 
original  undertakers  of  Massachusetts 
Colony,  242,  277.  Arrives  in  the  fleet 
with  Winthrop,  244,  277.  Chosen 
deputy  governor,  277.  Letter  to  the 
Countess  of  Lincoln,  277—282.  Set- 
tles at  Newtown,  283.  Is  censured 
for  building  a  good  house,  283.  Mis- 
understanding with  Winthrop,  253, 
283.  Attends  to  religious  services  in 
absence  of  the  Pastor,  284.  Chosen 
governor  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  284, 
289,  290,  298.  One  of  the  Military 
Commission,  having  power  of  life  and 
limb,  286.  One  of  the  council  for  life, 
287.  Opposes  the  heresy  of  Anne 
Hutchinson  and  others,  287.  An  ene- 
my of  toleration,  263, 293.  Appointed 
major  general,  290.  Removes  to  Ips- 
wich, and  to  Roxbury,  291.  Death 
of,  and  character,  291,292.  Epitaph, 
by  himself j  293.  Notice  of  his  family 
and  descendants,  294—296,  318,  340, 
359,377,378,380,388. 

Duel,  first  in  Plymouth  ,punishmentof ,85. 


428 


INDEX. 


Duelling  how  punished  in  New  Ply- 
mouth, 85. 

Dugdale,  William,  cited,  273. 

Dutch  of  New  York,  controversy  of 
Massachusetts  with,  299. 

Dwight,  Dr.  Timothy,  cited,  92,  230. 

Dyer,  Mary,  quakeress,  hung,  35S. 

E. 

Eastern  Indians,  war  with,  218.  Trea- 
ties with,  398. 

Eastham,  settlement  of,  150. 

Eaton,  Francis,  26. 

Eaton,  Theophilus,  240. 

Election,  annual,  in  New  Plymouth,  144. 

Eliot,  Rev.  John,  128,  129,  207,  284. 

Elizabeth  Islands,  38. 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  274. 

Ellet,  Peter,  405.  > 

Emigrants  to  America,  advice  to,  108, 
281. 

Emigration  to  New  England,  motives 
for,  238, 241.     To  Connecticut,  300. 

Endecott  House,  in  Salem,  361.  In  Bos- 
ton, 361.  Farm,  in  Salem,  361.  In 
Concord,  N.  H.,  361. 

Endecott,  John,  the  real  founder  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, 347,362.  Born  in  Dorset- 
shire, England,  and  bred  a  chirurgeon, 
347.  One  of  the  original  purchasers  of 
Massachusetts,  239,  378.  Governor 
of  the  plantation,  240,  243,  278,  348, 
349.  Arrives  at  Salem,  348.  Forms 
military  company,  349.  Cuts  down 
May-pole  at  Mount  Wollaston,  349. 
Is  superseded  by  Winthrop,  350.  As- 
sistant, deputy  governor,  and  major 
general,  350.  Forbids  Church  of  Eng- 
land worship,  and  sends  episcopalians 
home,  351.  Orders  veils  to  be  worn 
by  women  at  church,  352.  His  quar- 
rel with  Dexter,  of  Lynn,  352.  One 
of  the  military  council,  286,  353.  Cuts 
the  cross  from  the  flag,  317,  353.  Is 
suspended  from  office,  353.  Defends 
Roger  Williams,  and  is  imprisoned  ; 
recants,  and  is  released,  354.  Com- 
mands an  expedition  against  Pequots, 
354.  Chosen  governor  for  fifteen 
years,  355.  Inexorably  hostile  to  sec- 
taries, 355,  357.  Approves  persecu- 
tion of  the  Quakers,  357.  King's 
mandamus  to,  358.  Joins  association 
against  wearing  long  hair,  359.  Firm- 
ness in  resisting  royal  encroachments, 
359,  361.     Death  of,  361.     Character, 

362.  His  houses  in  Salem  and  Bos- 
ton, 361.     Notices  of  his  descendants, 

363,  366. 

Endecott,  John,  son  of  Gov.  E.,  notice 

of,  363. 
Endecott,  William  P.,  362. 


Endecott,  Zerubabel,  son  of  Gov.  E., 
notice  of,  and  of  his  descendants,  363- 
366. 

Englishmen,  three,  executed  for  murder, 
149. 

English,  Thomas,  26. 

Epenow.     See  Apannow. 

Episcopalians,  toleration  of,  342.  First 
society  of,  in  Boston,  412.  Opposi- 
tion to,  414. 


Fachin,  Nicholas,  422. 

Fairfax,  Sir  Thomas,  302. 

Famine,  at  New  Plymouth,  61,  67,  68. 

Fane,  Henry,  313. 

Fane,  John,  313. 

Fane,  Richard,  313. 

Farmer,  John,  and  Moore,  J.  B.,  "Col- 
lections" of,  cited,  205. 

Fast  at  Charlestown,  245. 

Felt,  Rev.  Joseph  B.,  cited,  387,  412. 

Fifth  Monarchy  men,  idea  of,  333. 

First  offence  in  Plymouth,  83. 

First  purchasers,  or  undertakers,  names 
of,  72,  347. 

Fisher,  Daniel,  418. 

Fishing,  at  Cape  Cod,  22.  At  Ply- 
mouth, 27,  36. 

Flae;,  the  royal,  defaced  at  Salem,  317, 
355. 

Fletcher,  governor  of  New  York,  395. 

Fletcher,  Moses,  26. 

Flint,  Thomas,  359. 

Flynt,  Rev.  Henry,  cited,  376. 

Force,  Peter,  his  Collection  of  Tracts  re- 
ferred to,  123,  177,  281,  385,  410,  419. 
MSS.  in  library  of,  172,  cited,  400. 

Forefather's  Rock,  account  of,  36. 
Forefather's  Day,  36. 

Fort,  of  Narragansetts,  taken,  186.  Wil- 
liam Henry,  199. 

Forts,  in  Nova  Scotia  taken,  198.  Of 
Pequots,  303. 

Forth,  John,  268. 

Forth,  Mary,  268. 

Fortune,  arrival  of,  60.  Passengers  by, 
67. 

Foster,  John,  386. 

Fowle,  Thomas,  127. 

Foxcroft,  George,  240. 

Fox,  Rev.  George,  358. 

Freeman,  Edmund,  Jr.  173. 

Freeman,  John,  174. 

Freemen ,  qualifications  of,  75, 144.  Oath 
of,  290. 

French  Protestants,  in  Oxford,  400. 

French  settlements,  driven  from  Maine, 
371. 

Fuller,  Edward,  26. 

Fuller,  Samuel,  22,  26,  140. 

Furs,  trade  for.     See  Beaver. 


INDEX. 


429 


G. 

Gallop,  Capt.  John,  185,  190. 

Gardner,  Ann,  widow,  388. 

Gardner,  Capt.  Joseph,  185,  190,  388. 

Gardiner,  Richard,  26. 

Gedney,  Bartholomew,  386. 

General  Fundamentals,  declaration  of ,  in 

New  Plymouth,  76,  146. 
Gerrits,  John,  405. 
Gibbons,  Edward,  368. 
Gibson,  Elizabeth,  363. 
Gilbert,  Nathaniel,  364. 
Glover,  Elizabeth,  270. 
Glover,  Hon.  John,  231. 
Glover,  Nathaniel,  231. 
Glover,  widow  Mary,  231. 
Goffe,  Thomas,  236.     Deputy  governor, 

239,  240. 
Goldsmith,  Ralph,  358. 
Goldsmith's  Hall,  meeting   of  commis- 
sioners at,  129. 
Goodman,  John,  26. 
"  Good  News  from  New  England,"  quo- 
ted, 101,  107. 
Gorges,   Sir   Ferdinando,   43,   70,   115. 
Grant  to,  235,  240.     Connected  with 
the  family  of  Lincoln,  276.     Sells  his 
grant  of  Maine,  372,  381. 
Gorges,  John,  marries  Frances,  daughter 

of  Earl  of  Lincoln,  276. 
Gorges,  Capt.   Robert,    76.     Grant  to, 

235. 
Gorham,  Capt.  John,  185,  190. 
Gorton,  Samuel,  122.     Enthusiast,  123. 
His  "  Simplicity's  Defence,"  123.  His 
letter   to    Morton    entire    in    Force's 
Tracts,  123.     Cruelly  persecuted,  123. 
E.  Winslow's  answer  to,  124,  153. 
Gosnold,    Bartholomew,   discoverer    of 

Cape  Cod,  22. 
Gospel,  society  for  propagation  of,  in  N. 

E.,  128,207. 
Gover,  Anna,  363. 

Government    instituted    in,    New    Ply- 
mouth, 144 — 146. 
Governor,    powers   and   duties   of,  pre- 
scribed in  New  Plymouth,  145.     Re- 
quired to  reside  at  Plymouth,  152. 
Grampus  Bay,  33. 
Grantees  of  Massachusetts,  240. 
Gray,  Edward,  91,  133,  152. 
Gray,  Sarah,  91. 
Great  Meadow  Creek.Truro,  34. 
Greene,  Gardiner,  361. 
Greene,  Samuel,  172,  385,  386. 
Grey,  Sir  Edward,  273. 
Grey,  Lady  Jane,  274. 
Griffin,  ship,  201,  297. 
Grimsby,  in  Lincolnshire,  51. 
Griswold,  Gov.  232. 
Groundnuts,  settlers  live  upon,  246. 
Gurnet,  35. 


H. 

Hackburne,  Mrs.  Catharine,  294. 

Hackbume,  Samuel,  294. 

Hair,  Association  against  long,  359. 

Hale,  Sir  Matthew,  345. 

Hamilton,  Marquis  of,  70. 

Hampden,  John,  64,  101. 

Harley,  Capt.  58. 

Harlow,  Capt.  58. 

Harrison,  General,  the  enthusiast,  270. 

Hartford,  settlement  of,  301. 

Harvard  College,  969,376. 

Harwood,  George,  240. 

Hatherly,  Timothy,  72, 153.  Notice  of, 
154,  202,  203. 

Haynes,  John,  birth  and  education,  297. 
A  man  of  fortune,  297.  Arrives  in  the 
Griffin,  with  Rev.  Mr.  Cotton,  and 
others,  297.  Chosen  governor  of  Mas- 
sachusetts tiie  second  year  after  he  ar- 
rives, 287,  298.  One  of  the  military 
council,  286.  Superseded  by  Vane, 
299.  Complains  of  Winthrop,  250. 
Removes  to  Connecticut,  302.  Ac- 
companies Uncas  to  Boston,  306. 
Chosen  first  governor  of  Connecticut, 

307,  and  is  often  chosen  afterwards, 

308.  Active  in  bringing  about  the 
confederation,  308.  In  danger  of 
perishing  in  a  storm,  309.  Attempt  to 
assassinate,  309.  His  religious  views 
more  tolerant  after  leaving  Massachu- 
setts, 310.  Death  of,  and  character, 
311,  312.  Notices  of  his  family,  and 
descendants,  311,  312. 

Henry,  I.,  anecdote  of,  359. 

Henry  IV.,  275,  400. 

Henry,  VII.,  273. 

Henry,  VIII.,  237,  273,  313,  421. 

Herrings  used  as  manure,  46. 

Hibbins,  Anne,  widow  of  Wm.  H,  ex- 
ecuted for  witchcraft,  344. 

Hibbins,  William,  344,  359. 

Higginson,  Rev.  John,  412. 

Hilton,  William,  139. 

Hinckley,  Ebenezer,  231. 

Hinckley,  Mercy,  231. 

Hinckley,  Samuel,  201. 

Hinckley,  Samuel,  son  of  Gov.  Hinck- 
ley, 231. 

Hinckley,  Hon.  Samuel,  232. 

Hinckley,  Thomas,  birth  and  education, 
202.  Arrives  in  the  Griffin,  201.  Set- 
tles at  Barnstable,  202.  Several  years 
a  deputy,  203.  Chosen  deputy  gov- 
ernor, and  governor,  203.  Goes  with 
the  popular  current,  203.  Cultivates 
the  favor  of  Randolph,  205.  An  active 
supporter  of  the  plan  of  extending  the 
Gospel  among  the  Indians,  207.  His 
account  of  the  Christian  Indians,  207. 
Account   of  Narragansett  difficulties, 


430 


INDEX. 


183.  Rigid  in  his  religious  views,  208. 
Earnest  to  prevent  profanation  of  the 
Sabbath,  and  to  provide  for  support  of 
religious  worship,  208,  209.  A  friend 
to  free  schools,  209.  Enforces  laws, 
laying  taxes  for  support  of  ministers, 
and  is  admonished  therefor  by  Ran- 
dolph, 210,  and  by  Andros,  211.  Sub- 
mits to  Andros,  and  accepts  a  seat  in 
his  council,  211.  Disapproves  his 
despotic  measures,  214.  Lays  com- 
plaints before  the  King,  215.  Re- 
assumes  government,  on  overthrow  of 
Andros,  217.  Attempts  to  procure  a 
charter,  but  is  discouraged,  220,  222. 
Prefers  union  with  Massachusetts  to 
annexation  to  New  York,  225.  One 
of  the  first  counsellors  under  the  new 
charter,  226.  Death  of,  and  character, 
231.  Notices  of  his  descendants,  232. 
His  manuscripts,  232. 

"  Hinckley's  Law,"  208.  " 

Hinckley  Papers,  208,  232. 

Hingham,  dispute  at,  259.  Citizens  of, 
fined,  260. 

History  of  New  England,  Winthrop's, 
editions  of,  266. 

Hitchcock,  Rev.  Gad,  196. 

Hobart,  Rev.  Peter,  89. 

Hobbamock,  or  Hobomok,  takes  up  his 
residence  at  Plymouth,  a  true  friend 
to  the  English,  58,  64,  65,  101. 

Hobby,  Sir  Charles,  396. 

Hocking, ,  killed  at  Kennebeck, 

142. 

Holdrip,  Richard,  130. 

Holland,  Lord,  a  descendant  of  Vassall, 
229. 

Holland.     See  Low  Countries. 

Holies,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Earl  of 
Clare,  334. 

Holies,  Gilbert,  Earl  of  Clare,  334. 

Hollis,  John,  Duke  of  Newcastle,  197, 
315,  334. 

Holmes,  Rev.  John,  89. 

Holmes,  Lieut.  Wm.  114.  Notice  of, 
148. 

Honeywood,  Sir  Robert,  315. 

Hooker,  Rev.  Thomas,  291,  298,  300. 

Hopkins,  Edward,  Governor  of  Con- 
necticut, 308,  309. 

Hopkins,  Oceanus,  born,  22. 

Hopkins,  Stephen,  son  of,  born  at  sea, 
22,  26.     Notice  of,  28,  55, 85,  94,  140. 

Hopkins,  Stephen,  governor  of  R.  I.  28. 

House  lots  laid  out  at  Plymouth,  37. 

Houses,  building  of,  at  Plymouth,  com- 
menced, 37. 

Howes,  Jeremiah,  174. 

Howe,  the  miller,  case  of,  338. 

Houchin,  Elizabeth,  363. 

Houchin,  Jeremy,  363. 

Howland,  Arthur,  174. 


Howland,  John,  26.     Notice  of,  46,  72. 
Hubbard,  Rev.  Wm.,  cited,  163,  267, 

284,  345. 
Hudibras,  Butler's ,  quotation  from,  84. 
Hudson,  Hannah,  375. 
Hudson,  Ralph,  375. 
Hudson's  River,  pilgrims  sail  for,  22  ,23. 
Huguenots,  in  Massachusetts,  401. 
Humphrey,  John,  240, 244,276, 277, 286. 
Hunt,  Capt.  Thomas,  the  kidnapper,  42, 

43,  56. 
Hunt,  Wm.  91. 
Hutchinson,  Anne,  253,  254,  257,  287, 

288,  291,  318.     Banished,  356.     Her 

belief,  319,  337,  380. 
Hutchinson,  Edward,  368. 
Hutchinson,  Gov.   Thomas,   cited,    80, 

110,  214,  243,  299,  373,  375,  390. 
Hutchins,  Thomas,  240. 
Huttamoiden,  submission  of,  57. 

I. 

Independence,  an  object  of  the  puritans, 
24,  144. 

Indian  Corn,  first  found,  29.  Indian  mode 
of  storing,  29.  Taken  from  the  Indians, 
30.  Twenty  acres  planted,  46.  Seed 
corn  taken  from  the  Indians  paid  for, 
56.  Sixty  acres  of,  planted,  61.  Pro- 
cured at  Namasket  and  Manomet,  63. 

Indians,  first  sight  of  by  pilgrims,  28. — 
Seen  around  a  grampus,  33.  Encoun- 
ter with,  34.  Destroyed  by  pestilence, 
40,  Kidnapped  by  Hunt,  43.  Taken 
by  Weymouth,  43.  Submission  of 
to  King  James,  45.  Embassy  to,  55. 
Submission  of  n  ine  sachems ,  57 .  Peace 
with  Aspinet,  56.  Seed  corn  taken 
from,  paid  for,  56.  Conspiracy  among, 
64.  Conspiracy  crushed  by  Standish, 
66.  Namascheucks,  96.  Hospitality 
of,  100.  Pecpuots  commence  hostili- 
ties and  are  destroyed,  148,  303 — 305. 
Narragansetts  refuse  to  join  them,  148. 
Supposed  plot  with  the  Dutch,  370. 
Executed  for  murder  of  John  Sausa- 
man,  181.  Narragansetts  make  war, 
182.  War  declared  against  by  United 
Colonies,  183.  Commissioners  go  with 
the  army,  390.  Nuniber  of  Christian , 
in  New  Plymouth,  207.  War  with 
Eastern,  218.  Order  against  furnish- 
ing arms  to,  416.  Lands  of,  regulation 
respecting  purchase  of,  168,  348. 

Instructions,  to  Gen.  Winslow,  184.  To 
Gov.  Endecott,  348,  351. 

Ipswich,  Agawam,  32,  412. 

J. 

James  I., grant  to  Council  of  Plymouth, 
9.  Hostility  to  the  Puritans,  12.     Dis- 


INDEX. 


431 


likes  Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  1G.  Refuses 
toleration,  243,  313.  Indian  Allegiance 
to,  45,  57. 

James  II.,  122,  206.  Proclaimed  at  New- 
Plymouth,  211.  Addressed  by  New 
Plymouth,  207,  211.  Proclaimed  in 
Boston,  392,  403,  408,  409. 

Jamaica,  surrender  of,  130. 

Johnson,  Edward,  cited,  3^5,  347,  371. 

Johnson,  Isaac,  236,  240,  242,  276. 

Johnson,  Lady  Arbella,  276. 

Johnson,  Dr.  Samuel,  136. 

Johnson,  Captain  Isaac,  185,  187,  190. 

Jones,  Captain,  of  the  Mayflower,  19. 
Plot  ascribed  to,  23,  29,  30,  39,  61. 

Jones,  Margaret,  executed  for  witchcraft, 
345. 

K. 

Keayne,  Major  Benjamin,  296. 

Keayne,  Captain  Robert,  296. 

Keekamuit,  seat  of  Massasoit,  56. 

Kennebeck  patent,  54.  Pilgrims  trade 
at,  72,  111.  Disturbances  at,  142, 
144.  Government  organized,  151.  Pa- 
tent sold,  133. 

Kent,  Chancellor,  232. 

King,  Edward,  133. 

King's  Chapel,  Boston,  414. 

Kingfisher,  ship  of  war,  410. 

Kirke,  Colonel,  410,  421. 

Knight,  Walter,  361. 

Knollys,  Hanserd,  378,  379. 


Laconia,  grant  of,  235. 

Lands  of  Indians,  regulations  respect- 
ing purchase  of,  168,  348. 

Larkham,  Thomas,  379. 

Latham,  Robt.  133. 

Laud,  Archbishop,  12,  115.  Winslow 
heard  before,  116.  Sends  "Winslow  to 
prison,  117,  201,  247,  297,  313,  323, 
412. 

Laws  of  New  Plymouth,  established  and 
defined,  77,  118,  143.  Revisions  of, 
147.     Different  editions  of,  172. 

League  with  Scotland,  324. 

Leavitt,  Christopher,  76. 

Le  Baron,  Dr.  L.  92. 

Leddra,  William,  quaker,  hung,  357. 

Legatists,  party  called,  287. 

Leicester,  Earl  of,  274. 

Leisler,  Jacob,  405. 

Leister,  Edward,  26.  Punished  for  du- 
elling, 88. 

Lenox,  Duke  of,  70. 

Leverett,  Anne,  367. 

Leverett,  Hudson,  375. 

Leverett,  John  a  native  of  Lincolnshire, 
367.    A  merchant  in  Boston,  368. — 


Major  General  of  the  colony,  368.  On 
an  embassy  to  Miantonomoh,  368, 
370.  Goes  to  England,  and  engages  in 
the  service  of  parliament,  370.  Returns, 
and  is  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House,370. 
Commander  of  forces  371.  In  an  ex- 
pedition against  French,  371.  Again 
visits  England,  371.  Returns  and  is 
chosen  governor  of  Massachusetts, 371. 
Inquires  into  disputes  at  Dover,  and 
Portsmouth,  371.    His  visits  to  Maine, 

372.  Refuses  to  enforce  the  royal  acts 
of  trade,  373.  Knighted  by  Charles  II., 

373.  Death  of,  374.  Character,  373— 
375.  Grants  to,  367,  374.  Notices  of 
his  family,  375,  376,  296. 

Leverett,  Rev.  John,  notice  of,  375. 

Leverett,  Mary,  296,  375. 

Leverett,  Sarah,  375. 

Leverett,  Elder  Thomas,  notice  of,  367, 

375. 
Lewis,  Alonzo,  History  of  Lynn,  cited, 

59. 
Leyden,  pilgrims  at,  13,  93. 
Ley,  Lord,  320. 
Liddell,  Sir  Thomas,  315. 
Lincoln,  Countess  of,  Dudley's  Letter  to, 

277,  377. 
Lincoln,  Theophilus,  Earl  of,  connection 

of  his  family  with  New  England,  276. 
Lisle,  Viscount,  273. 
London  Company.     See  Virginia  Com- 
pany. 
Long  hair,  association  against,  359. 
Long  Island,  submission  of,  to  Andros? 

406.     Allowed  representation,  408. 
Loring,  Commodore,  136. 
Lothrop,  Barnabas,  202.     Notice  of,  214,. 

226. 
Lothrop,  Benjamin, 202. 
Lothrop,  Rev.   John,   201.     Notice  of,, 

202. 
Lothrop,  John,  202. 
Lothrop,  Joseph,  202. 
Lothrop,  Samuel,  202. 
Lothrop,  Thomas,  202. 
Loudon,  Lord,  199. 
Louis  XIV.,  400. 
Low    Countries,  reason    for   removing 

from,  14. 
Ludlow,  General,  Memoir  of,  cited,  330- 
Ludlow,  Roger,  notice  of,  298. 
Lusher,  Eleazar,  371. 
Lyford,  John,  85,  86,  87,  110. 
Lyon's  Whelp,  ship,  351. 

M. 

Maine,  settlements  in,  subjected  to  Mas- 
sachusetts, 370,  372.  Purchase  of,  by 
Massachusetts,  372,  381,  382. 

Mandamus  of  Charles  II.,  162,  358. 

Manisses,  Block  Island,  88. 


432 


INDEX. 


Mannamoyck,  Chatham,  C2. 

Manning,  Captain,  404. 

Manomet,  sachem  of,  58. 

Margeson,  Edmund,  26. 

Mariana,  grant  of,  235. 

Marlborough,  Earl  of,  320. 

Marriages,  first  in  New  Plymouth, 
94.  Solemnized  in  New  Plymouth 
and  Massachusetts  by  magistrates, 117. 

Marshall,  Capt.  185,  190. 

Martin,  Christopher,  26. 

Mary,  Glueen,  237,  274. 

Mason,  Capt.  John,  grant  to,  235. 

Mason,  Captain  John,  the  warrior,  185. 
Notice  of,  302. 

Mason,  John,  302. 

Mason,  "Hon.  Jeremiah,  302. 

Massachusetts  Bay,  grant  of,  236.  Ori- 
ginal purchasers  of,  236.  Explored 
by  pilgrims,  59.  Government  of, 
transferred  to  New  England,  236, 
242.  Patent  of,  236,  349.  Names  of 
grantees,  240.  Original  design,  242, 
349.  Company  in  London,  241,  244. 
London's  plantation  in,  241,349.  Tol- 
eration not  granted,  243.  Rejected, 
257.  Distress  of  settlers  in,  248. 
Charter  placed  in  safe  keeping,  341. 
Spirit  of  people  noticed  in  England, 360. 
Quo  warranto  against,  205.  Contro- 
versy of,  with  Gorton,  122.  Complaint 
against  by  Dr.  Child,  124.  Purchases 
territory  of  Maine,  372.  Militia  first 
organized  in,  374.  Records  of,  des- 
troyed or  carried  away,  411. 

Massasoit,  43.  Description  and  enter- 
tainment of,  at  New  Plymouth,  44. 
Treaty  with.  44.  Acknowledges  sub- 
jection, 45.  Visit  to,  55.  Friendly 
to  the  English,  57.  Sick,  63.  Visited 
by  E.  Winslow*  and  John  Hamp- 
den, 64,  101.  With  his  son  renews 
the  league  with  Pilgrims,  73.  Visited 
by  Winslow  and  Hopkins,  94.  His 
entertainment  and  speech,  98.  Visit- 
ed by  Standish  and  Allerton,  treats 
them  with  groundnuts,  45.  Wins- 
low's  account  of  visit  to,  in  sickness, 
101.  Reported  death  of,  102.  Re- 
ception by,  104.  Tended  by  Wins- 
low, 105.  Recovers,  106.  Anecdote 
of,  114.     Death  of,  162. 

Mather,  Dr.  Cotton,  cited,  82,  220,  224, 
261,  267,  345,  367,  373,  374,  395. 

Mather,  Rev.  I.,  cited,  163,  220,  224, 
225,  394,  413. 

Mattapoiset,  in  Swansey.  See  Matta- 
•puxjst. 

Mattapuyst,  in  Swansey,  residence  of 
Caunbatant,  58,  229. 

May,  Dorothy,  88. 

Mayflower,  ship,  19,  21.  Birth  on  board 
the,  at  sea,  22,  23.     Peregrine  White 


born  on  board  the,  31.  Sails  for  Eng- 
land, 46.     Last  survivor  of,  46. 

Mayhew,  Rev.  Experience,  231. 

Mayhew,  Rev.  Dr.  Jonathan,  128,  207. 

May,  Mr.  father  of  Dorothy,  wife  of 
Gov.  Bradford,  54. 

Mayo,  Nathaniel,  174. 

Medford,  or  Mystic,  settled,  280. 

Meeting-houses,  towns  required  to  build, 
210. 

Meitiwacks,  Long  Island,  404. 

Merchant  adventurers,  agreement  with, 
17.     Interest  of  purchased,  54. 

Merrymeeting  Bay,  151. 

Merry  Mount,  55.  Name  of,  changed 
by  Endecott  to  Mount  Dagon,  349. 

Metacomet,  son  of  Massasoit.  See 
Philip. 

Miantonomoh,  sachem  of  the  Narragan- 
setts,  303.  Embassy  to,  368.  Des- 
cription of,  and  his  visit  to  Boston,  369. 

Military  Commission,  extraordinary 
powers  of,  286,  336. 

Military  rank  in  New  Plymouth,  176. 

Militia,  first  organized,  374. 

Milton,  John,  his  sonnet  to  Vane,  326. 

Monahiggon,  or  Monhegan,  Winslow's 
visit  to,  for  provisions;  100.  Planta- 
tion at,  broken  up,  111. 

Monckton,  Col.  198. 

Monk,  General,  332. 

Monks  of  Malaga,  liberate  Indians,  43. 

Monmouth,  Duke  of,  372,  410. 

Montgomery,  Gen.  Richard,  134. 

Mooanam,  son  of  Massasoit,  73. 

Moody,  Hannah,  135. 

Moody,  Rev.  Joshua,  135. 

Mortality,  of  the  Pilgrims,  39,  41. 

Morton,  Nathaniel,  cited,  23,  24.  Me- 
morial, 81.  Gorton's  letter  to,  123, 
202,  292. 

Morton,  Thomas,  84.  Sent  home  a  pris- 
oner, 87,  115.  Charges  of,  against 
Winslow,  117. 

Mosely,  Capt.  Samuel,  185,  187. 

Mount  Hope,  residence  of  Massasoit, 
56,  92.  Granted  to  New  Plymouth, 
204.  Claimed  by  Massachusetts,  192, 
204.  Claimed  also  by  John  Crown,  and 
by  Rhode  Island,  193,  204. 

Mount  Wollaston,  349. 

Mourt's  Relation,  authors  of,  82. 

Mullins,  Priscilla,  109,  203. 

Mullins,  William,  26,  203. 

Murder,  punished,  149. 

Muscongus  lands,  Leverett's  title  to,  368. 

N. 

Namascheucks,  96. 

Namasket,  58.     Winslow  and  Hopkins 

at,  95.     Winslow  and  Hampden  lodge 

at,  101. 


INDEX. 


433 


Namskeket  Creekj  34. 

Nanepashemet,  grave  of,  59. 

Nantz,  edict  of,  400. 

Narragansetts,  challenge  from  the,  60. 
Answered,  60.  Make  war  against  the 
English,  182.  Brief  narrative  of  the 
war  with,  183.  Their  forts  taken  by 
the  English,  186.  Betrayed  by  Peter, 
187.  Great  numbers  slain,  190.  Trea- 
ty with,  391. 

Narrative  de  Alexandra,  165. 

Natawanute,  Windsor,  Conn.  114. 

Nattawahunt,  submission  of,  57. 

Naumkeag,  Salem,  347. 

Nauset,  Eastham,  34,  41;  42,  56,  58, 
150.    • 

Neal,  Daniel,  243,  254. 

Nelson,  John,  418. 

Neponset,  Milton,  Sachem  of,  58,  246. 

Newcastle,  Duke  of,  197,  315,  334. 

New  England,  patent  for,  9.  Grant  to 
Plymouth  colonists,  70.  Scheme  of 
general  government  in,  76,  115.  Pro- 
ject fails,  116.  Confederation  of  colo- 
nies in,  119.  Winthrop's  Hist,  of,  266. 
First  Englishman  born  in,  31.  Un- 
reasonable expectations  respecting,  108, 
281.  Winslow's  Narration  ofGrounds 
of  Planting,  124.  Episcopacy  in,  84, 
351.  Established  in,  412.  Seal  of,  un- 
der Andros,  410. 

New  English  Canaan,  by  Thomas  Mor- 
ton, 84. 

Newcomen,  John,  83. 

New  Jersey,  resistance  of  to  Andros, 
409. 

New  London,  148. 

Newman,  Rev.  Antipas,  363. 

Newman,  Widow  Elizabeth,  363. 

New  Plymouth,  introductory  note,  9. 
First  settled,  37,  38.  Pilgrims  arrive 
at,  22.  Rock  and  place  of  the  landing 
at,  36.  Conclusion  of  pilgrims  to  set- 
tle there,  37.  Buildings  commenced  at, 
37.  Burial  Hill  fortified  at,  61.  Sa- 
moset  at,  41.  Weston's  colony  at,  61. 
Trading  vessels  at,  61.  Settlers  of,  ap- 
ply for  a  patent,  70.  Grant  of,  in  the 
name  of  John  Pierce,  and  others,  70. 
Colonists  purchase  rights  held  in  Eng- 
land, 72.  Colonists  open  trade  at 
Kennebeck,  Penobscot,  Connecticut, 
72.  Grant  of,  and  tract  on  the  Kenne- 
beck, 72.  Courts  established  at,  75. 
First  assembly  in,  75.  Declaration 
of  rights,  76,  144.  Laws  estab- 
lished in,  77, 118, 143.  Records  of  first 
church  in,  80,  173.  First  offence  in, 
83.  Duel  at,  85.  Parties  punished, 
85.  Supplies  obtained  at  eastward, 
100.  Condition  of  in  1624,  111.  Plen- 
tiful harvests,  111.  Invited  by  the 
Dutch  and   Indians  to   settle  on  the 

55 


,  Connecticut,  112.  Colonists  build 
trading  house  at  Connecticut,  113. 
Opposed  by  the  Dutch,  114.  En« 
croachments  on  by  French  and  Dutch, 
115.  Body  of  laws  for,  formed,  118. 
Colonists  more  tolerant  than  those  of 
Massachusetts,  118.  Sell  landsonthe 
Kennebeck,  133.  Lands  purchased  of 
Indians,  150.  Proposal  to  remove  the 
town,  151.  Laws  against  Quakers, 
158,  159.  New  Charter  sought  for, 
192,  203.  Union  of,  with  Massachu- 
setts proposed,  204.  Number  of  Chris- 
tian Indians  in,  207.  James  II.  pro- 
claimed at,  211.  Counsellors  under 
Andros,  214.  Quietly  submits  to  An- 
dros,  212.  Resumes  its  ancient  privi- 
leges, 215.  Petitions  the  King,  215. 
Declaration  of  the  Gen.  Court,  217. 
Condition  of  the  colony  of,  219.  Re- 
newed efforts  of,  for  charter,  219. 
Grants  to  agents,  221.  Want  of  means 
to  obtain  charter,  222.  United  with 
Massachusetts,  223.  Last  General 
Court  of,  227.  Condition  of  the 
colony  of,  when  annexed,  227 — 230. 

Newtown,  Cambridge,  settled,  245,  247, 
283,  285,  286.  Settlers  emigrate  to 
Connecticut,  300* 

New  York,  surrender  of,  to  the  English, 
403. 

Nianticks,  or  Nyantics,  302,  370. 

Nicholls,  Judge,  275. 

Northampton,  Earl  of,  273,  275. 

Northumberland,  Duke  of,  273,'  274. 
Earl  of,  320. 

Norton,  Humphrey,  155.  Abusive  let- 
ter of,  to  Gov.  Prence,  156. 

Norton,  Rev.  John,  383. 

Nova  Scotia,  expedition  against,  198. 

Nowell,  Increase,  240,268,284,  286,  359. 

o. 

Oakes,#homas,  220,  397. 

Oaths,  Winslow's  opinion  of,  130.  Form 
of  freeman's,  290. 

Obbatinnua,  sachem  of  Shawmut,  sub- 
mission of,  57,  59. 

Office,  penalty  for  refusing,  78.  Not 
sought  after,  140. 

Ohquamehud,  a  Wampanoag,  submis- 
sion of,  57. 

Old  Colony  Club,  92. 

Oldham,  John,  85,  86,  87,  110. 

Oldmixon,  330,  403,  421. 

Old  Plymouth,  38. 

Old  South  Church,  Boston,  413. 

Oliver,  Capt. ,  185. 

Original  purchasers  of  Massachusetts,' 
347. 

Orne,  Timothy,  361. 

Owsamequin.     See  Massasoit, 


434 


INDEX. 


P. 

Pamet,  Truro,  58. 

Paomet  Creek.     See  Cold  Harbour. 

Parris,  Arthur,  133. 

Pascataqua,  66.  Settled  by  David 
Thompson,  67,  149. 

Patents,  16,  20,  54,  70,  72,  73,  74,  240, 
404. 

Patents,  of  New  England,  9,  10.  See 
Pilgrims,  New  Plymouth,  and  Massa- 
chusetts Bay. 

Pawtucket,  149. 

Patuxet,  Plymouth,  38.  Squanto,  only 
surviving  native  of,  43. 

Pelham,  Edward,  197. 

Pelham,  Herbert,  notice  of,  196,  339. 

Pelham,  Penelope,  wife  of  Gov.  Bel- 
lingham,  339. 

Pelham,  Penelope,  196,  197,  200. 

Pelham,  Sir  Thomas,  315. 

Pelham,  Thomas,  197,  339. 

Pemaquid,397,  404. 

Penn,  Admiral,  130. 

Penobscot,  72.     Patent,  74. 

Pepperell,  Sir  Wm.,90. 

Pequot,  New  London,  304. 

Pequots,  73, 88, 114.  Expedition  against, 
147.  Volunteers  from  Plymouth 
against,  148.  Country  of,  148.  Des- 
truction of,  302. 

Perry,  Richard,  240. 

Persecution,  of  the  pilgrims,  12,  50.  Of 
the.auakers,  153,  162,  177,  208.  Of 
Anabaptists,  177,257,356.  Of  Epis- 
copalians, 351. 

Pestilence,  among  the  Indians,  40. 

Peter,  a  Narragansett,  betrays  his  coun- 
trymen, 187. 

Peters,  Hugh,  251,  379. 

Philip,  son  of  Massasoit,  162.  Suc- 
ceeds Alexander,  165.  Causes  of  war 
with,  165.  Appears  at  Plymouth,  167. 
Refuses  to  treat  except  with  tJie  King, 
180.  Prepares  for  war,  18m  War 
with  commenced,  165, 181.  His  forts 
taken,  187.  Death  and  character  of, 
191. 

Philpot,  the  martyr,  237. 

Phips,  Sir  William,  224.  Arrives  with 
new  charter  of  Massachusetts,  226, 
387.  Arrested  and  supplanted  by 
Dudley,  396. 

Pierce,  John,  70,  71. 

Pilgrim  Hall,  at  Plymouth,  92. 

Pilgrims,  persecuted  in  England,  11. 
Form  separate  church,  12.  Resolve 
on  flight  to  Holland,  12.  Their  first 
attempt  prevented,  50.  They  are  im- 
prisoned, 51.  Second  attempt,  51. 
Remove  to  Amsterdam  and  Leyden, 

13.  Contemplate  removal  to  America, 

14.  Reasons,   14.     Obtain  a    patent 


from  the  London  Company,  16.  Ar- 
rangements of,  for  leaving  Holland,  17. 
Agreement  of,  with  the  merchant  ad- 
venturers, 18.  Hard  conditions,  19. 
Embark  at  Delfthaven,  20.  Ships  of, 
put  back,  20, 21.  Speedwell  dismissed, 

21.  Sail  again,  21.  Descry  Cape 
Cod,   22.     Stand  for  Hudson   River, 

22.  Put  back  to  Cape  Cod  harbour, 

23.  Plot  against,  23.  Compact  be- 
fore landing,  24.  Objects  of  the  com- 
pact, 24.  Subscribe  the  compact,  26. 
Examine  the  coast,  27.  Choose  John 
Carver  governor,  25.  Excursion  of, 
under  Miles  Standish,  28.  Their  first 
sight  of  the  natives,. 28.  Their  dis- 
coveries, 29.  Second  expedition  of, 
29.  Indian  graves,  &c,  discovered 
by,  31.  Consult  about  place  of  set- 
tlement, 31.  Third  expedition  of,  32. 
Are  exposed  to  intense  cold,  32.  First 
encounter  of,  with  Indians,  33.  Sail 
along  the  shore,  34.  In  great  danger, 
35.  Land  on  Clark's  Island,  35.  At 
Plymouth,  36.  Lay  out  house-lots 
and  commence  building,  37.  Name 
their  settlement  Plymouth,  37.  Store- 
house of,  burnt,  38.  Two  of,  lost  in 
the  woods,  39.  Great  mortality  among 
the,  39.  Receive  Samoset,  41.  And 
other  Indians,  42.  Secure  the  friend- 
ship of  Massasoit,  57.  Accessions 
to,  by  the  Fortune,  60.  Put  on  short 
allowance,  60.  Menaced  by  the  Nar- 
ragansetts,  60.  Fortify  the  town,  60. 
Famine  of,  61.  Plant  sixty  acres  of 
corn,  61.  Supplied  by  Captain  Jones, 
61.  Their  sufferings  described,  67. 
Pint  of  corn  divided  among,  68. 
Abandon  their  system  of  community 
of  goods,  and  prosper,  69.  See  New 
Plymouth. 

Pinchion,  William,  240,  286. 

Plaindealing,  estate  of,  in  Plymouth,  133, 
152. 

Plymouth  Church,  151,  173. 

Plymouth  Colony.     See  JVew  Plymouth. 

Plymouth  Company,  9.     In  Maine,  133. 

Plymouth  Harbor  explored,  23.  Pil- 
grims arrive  in,  22.  Fish  and  fowl 
abound  in,  27. 

Plymouth  Rock,  36. 

Pocasset,  squaw-sachem  of,  162. 

Pokanoket,  extent  of,  55.  Expedition 
to,  95. 

Pollard,  Col.  Benj.,  136. 

Pope,  the,  and  the  Quaker,  anecdote  of, 
161. 

Population  of  New  Plymouth  in  1624, 
110. 

Powows,  Indian,  40. 

Prence,  Thomas,  a  native  of  Gloucester- 
shire, 139.     One  of  the  original  under- 


INDEX. 


435 


takers  of  New  Plymouth,  72.  Comes 
over  in  the  Fortune,  139.  Chosen 
Governor  of  New  Plymouth,  141. 
Raises  a  company  of  volunteers  against 
the  Pequots,  147.  A  second  time  gov- 
ernor, 148.  Prompt  punishment  of 
murderers,  149.  Makes  a  settlement 
at  Eastham,  150.  Organizes  govern- 
ment at  Kennebeck,  151.  Again 
chosen  governor,  and  re-elected  six- 
teen years,  78, 152.  Removes  to  Ply- 
mouth, 133,  152.  His  place  of  resi- 
dence, 152.  Rigid  against  eectaries, 
153,  178,  208.  Proscribes  those  who 
are  tolerant,  154.  Punishes  the  Qua- 
kers, 155.  Is  bitterly  denounced  by 
them,  156.  Approves  laws  for  their 
disfranchisement,  158.  Apology  for, 
159.  Guards  against  apprehended  at- 
tacks of  Indians,  162 — 167.  Inter- 
course with  the  Royal  Commissioners, 
167.  Secures  their  favorable  report, 
and  approbation  of  the  King,  168.  Is 
invited  by  Roger  Williams  to  discuss 
the  question  of  religious  freedom,  169. 
Declines,  170.  Introduces  free  schools 
into  the  colony,  170.  His  efforts  to 
provide  for  support  of  ministry,  173. 
Noted  for  his  integrity,  171.  Death 
of,  and  character,  173.  Notices  of  his 
descendants,  173,  174. 

Prentice,  Capt.  Thomas,  185. 

Priest,  Degory,  26. 

Prince,  Rev.  John,  174. 

Prince,  John,  174. 

Prince  of  Orange,  declaration  of,  brought 
by  John  Winslow,  133. 

Prince,  Samuel,  231. 

Prince,  Rev.  Thomas,  174. 

Prince,  Thomas,  cited,  24,  26,  80,  231, 
266,  267. 

Providence  Plantations,  122. 

Puritans,  relics  of,  preserved,  92,  200. 

Puritans,  the  first  settlers,  11.  At  Am- 
sterdam, 13.  Of  England,  in  power, 
125.  Their  object  independence,  24, 
144.     See  Pilgrims. 

Q. 

duadequina,  brother  of  Massasoit,  44. 
Submission  of,  57. 

Quakers,  153,  155.  Laws  against,  in 
New  Plymouth,  158.  Character  of 
first,  160.  Anecdote  of  the  Pope  and 
one  of  the,  161.  Banished  on  pain  of 
death,  162, 357.  Persecution  of,  153— 
162,  177,  208.  Persecution  of  ended 
by  mandamus  of  Charles  II.,  162,  358, 
383.  They  become  peaceful  citizens, 
162.  Toleration  of,  342.  Severe  laws 
against,  in  Massachusetts,  356 — 357. 
Executed  in  Boston,  357. 


aueen  Anne,  396,  398,  399. 

dueen  Elizabeth,  death  of,  9. 

Quincy,  Pres.  J.,  cited,  225,  259,  376, 

399. 
Quinnipiack,  New  Haven,  304. 

R. 

Raby  Castle,  320. 

Rainsburrow,  Col.,  270,  370. 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  9. 

Randolph,  Edward,  192,  205,  206,  373, 
387,  393,  394,  410,  411,  413,  419. 

Ranters,  laws  againet,  158. 

Rattlesnake's  skin,  sent  with  arrows»to 
the  Plymouth  settlers,  60. 

Records  Plymouth  Church,  cited,  173. 

Representative  body ,  origin  of  in  Massa- 
chusetts, 285. 

Revolution  in  New  England,  385,  393, 
417. 

Reyner,  Elizabeth,  89. 

Reyner,  Rev.  John,  89. 

Reynolds,  captain  of  the  Speedwell,  19. 
Puts  back  twice,  and  ship  abandoned, 
21. 

Rhode  Island,  122.  Excluded  from  the 
League,  125,  161.  Tolerance  in,  161. 
Requested  by  Commissioners  of  Uni- 
ted Colonies  to  expel  Quakers,  161. 
Answer  of,  and  refusal,  161.  Submits 
to  Andros,  414. 

Richards,  Alice,  89. 

Richards,  Major  John,  386,  391. 

Richards,  Mary,  231. 

Rich,  Lord,  377. 

Ridgdale,  John,  26. 

Robertson,  William,  cited,  358. 

Robinson,  Isaac,  178. 

Robinson,  Rev.  John,  12.  Goes  over  to 
Holland,  13.  His  parting  letter  to 
Carver,  13.  Present  at  embarcation  of 
Pilgrims,  20.  Remains  at  Leyden, 
notice  of,  20,  49,  66,  87,  93,  109,4178, 
201. 

Robinson,  Thomas,  letter  of  respecting 
Vane,  327. 

Robinson,  William,  quaker,  executed, 
357. 

Rock,  Forefather's,  account  of,  36. 

Rogers,  Rev.  Mr.,  289. 

Rogers,  Thomas,  26. 

Rose,  frigate,  382,  417,  418. 

Roswell,  Sir  Henry,  236,  238,  240. 

Rouse,  John,  155. 

Roxbury,  settlement  of,  280, 281. 

Ruling  elders,  350,  367. 

Rump  Parliament,  324. 

Russell,  James,  312. 

Russell,  N.  92. 

Russell,  Sir  William,  320. 

Ryehouse  plot,  206. 


436 


INDEX. 


S. 


Sabbath,  first  Christian  in  New  England, 
35.  Regulations  for  observance  of  in 
Mass.  351. 

St.  Clair,  Gen.  134. 

St.  Domingo,  Expedition  against,  130. 

Salem,  settlement  of,  347.  Church  es- 
tablished at,  350.  Military  company 
formed,  348.  Resolution  of  town  of, 
392. 

Salstonstall,  Sir  Richard,  236,  240,  241, 
242,340,359,378. 

Samoset,  description  of,  and  reception  at 
Plymouth,  41,  and  of  his  Indians,  42. 
Instructs  the  settlers  how  to  plant  corn, 
45. 

Sandys,  Sir  Edwin,  13.  Notice  of,  15, 
24. 

Saquish,  in  Plymouth  Harbor,  35,  199. 

Sassacus,  sachem  of  the  Pequots,  303,305. 

Saugus,  Lynn,  280. 

Sausaman,  John,  164.  Reveals  hostile  de- 
signs of,  and  is  killed  by  Philip's  In- 
dians, 181. 

Sausmares,  Seigniory  of,  422. 

Savage,  Elizabeth,  135,  346. 

Savage,  James,  cited,  250,  261,  editor  of 
Winthrop,  267,292,  299,374. 

Say  and  Sele,  Lord,  142,  269,  276,  300. 

Seafowi  abundant  at  Cape  Cod,  27. 

Seal  of  New  England  under  Andros,  410. 

Secretary  of  New  Plymouth,  146. 

Sedgwick,  Gen.  Robert,  371. 

Seily,  Capt.  185,  190. 

Sequassen,  a  sachem,  309. 

Sergeant,  John,  386. 

Sergeant  Major  General,  290,  350. 

Serlo,  Norman  bishop,  against  long  hair, 
359. 

Settlements  in  Canada,  &c.,9. 

Sewall,  Chief  Justice,  402,  413,  421. 

Sewall,  Samuel,  402. 

Schools  established  in  New  Plymouth, 
170,209. 

Scituate,  settlement  of,  201,  262. 

Sharpe,  Samuel.  281. 

Shattock,  Samuel,  358. 

Shawmut,  Boston,  sachem  of,  58,  245. 

Sheafe,  Sampson,  400. 

Shirley,  James,  72,  74. 

Shirley,  Gen,  William,  90. 

Shrimpton,  Samuel,  386. 

Shute,  Gov.  Saimyel,  399, 

Sickness,  Indian  customs  in,  101,  104. 

Slade's  Ferry  in  Swansey,  102. 

Slaney,  John,  43. 

Sloughter,  Gov.  of  New  York,  220,  223, 
395. 

Smith,  John,  Capt.,  28,  names  Plymouth, 
37.  History  and  map  of  New  Eng- 
land, 38.  Detests  Hunt,  the  kidnap- 
per, 43. 


Smith  Laurence,  231. 

Smith,  Richard,  403. 

Smith,  Sir  Thomas,  15,  16. 

Snow,  Mark,  174. 

Soule,  George,  26. 

Southampton,  pilgrims  leave,  20. 

Southcoat,  Thomas,  239,240. 

South  Church,  Boston,  412,  414. 

Southworth,  Constant,  88,  89,  90. 

Southworth,  Nathaniel,  133. 

Southworth,  Thomas,  88,  89,  151. 

Sowams,  seat  of  Massasoit,  56. 

Spain.    See  United  Provinces. 

Sparhawk,  Rev.  John,  137,  361. 

Sparrow,  ship,  61. 

Speedwell,  tonnage  of  the,  19.  Puts  baek, 
20.     Dismissal,  21. 

Squanto,  or  Squantum,  history  of,  43, 
44,  45,  55,  56.  Death  of,  62,  95,  97. 

Squaw  sachem  of  Massachusetts,  59. 
OfPocasset,  162. 

Standish,  Capt.  Miles,  26.  Military 
commander  at  New  Plymouth,  28, 
176.  Heads  an  excursion  along  Cape 
Cod,  28.  Goes  to  meet  Massasoit, 
44,  45,  58,  62.  Expedition  against 
Indians  at  Weymouth,  65,  66.  Visits 
Pascataqua,  67,  72.  Attacked  by  Old- 
ham, 86,  140,  141,  148,  170. 

Standish,  Miles,  Jr.,  133. 

Stephens,  Major  Gen.  Ebenezer,  134. 

Stephenson,  Marmaduke,  quaker,  hung, 
357. 

Stockbridge,  Dr.  199. 

Stone,  Rev.  Samuel,  298,  300. 

Stone,  a  West  Indian,  takes  a  Plymouth 
bark  at  Connecticut,  which  is  retaken 
by  Dutch  sailors,  142. 

Stonington,  148. 

Storehouse  at  Plymouth,  37,  38. 

Stoughton,  Capt.  Israel,  304. 

Stoughton,  William,  386. 

Strafford,  Earl  of,  314,  322, 323, 330, 333. 

Stuyvesant,  Gov.,  supposed  plot  of,  with 
Indians,  370. 

Puck  aug,  Hartford,  301. 

runckquasson,  sachem,  302. 

Sunday  in  Holland,  14. 

Swamp  Fight,  Narragansett,  186. 

Swan,  arrival  of  the,  61. 

Synod,  at  Cambridge,  256. 


Tailer,  Lieut.  Gov.  William,  389. 
Tarratines,  Eastern  Indians,  59. 
Taunton  river,  pestilence  on,  96. 
Tax  for  the  support  of  the  clergy,  210, 

For  fortifying  Newtown,  285. 
Taylor,  Ann,  132,  135. 
Ten  Hills  Farm,  264. 
Thompson,  David,  67,  111. 
Ticonderoga,  199. 


INDEX. 


437 


Tilden,  Nathaniel,  202. 

Tilly,  Edward,  26,  28. 

Tilly,  John,  26. 

Tindal,  Sir  John,  268. 

Tindal,  Margaret,  268. 

Tinker,  Thomas,  26. 

Tisquantum.  See  Squanto. 

Toleration,  want  of  in  England,  15,  243. 
In  Holland,  13.  In  New  Plymouth, 
125 ;  which  Winslow  laments,  126. 
Denounced,  177. 

Tracy,  John,  174. 

Trade  opened  on  the  Kennebeck  and 
Connecticut,  72,  74,  111,  112.  Wins- 
low  engaged  in, 112. 

Treat,  Major  Robert,  185.  Governor  of 
Connecticut,  415. 

Treaty  with  Massasoit,  44. 

Trumbull,  Rev.  Benjamin,  cited,  312. 

Trumbull,  Gov.  Jonathan,  267. 

Turner,  John,  26. 

Tyng,  Edward,  402. 

Tyng,  Rebecca,  402. 


u. 


Uncas,  sachem  of  the  Mohegans,  assists 
English  against  Pequots,  304,  306, 
309. 

Underhill,  Captain  John,  378. 

Undertakers,  or  first  purchasers,  names 
of,  72,  277,  347. 

Union  of  New  Plymouth  with  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  204,  223. 

United  Provinces  and  Spain,  truce  be- 
tween, 16. 

Upham,  Rev.  Charles  Wentworth,  cited, 
319,327,330. 

Upham,  Lieut.  Phinehas,  190. 

Usher,  John,  400,  418. 

Utrecht,  treaty  of,  398. 

Uxbridge,  treaty  of,  324. 


Vane,  Sir  Christopher,  Lord  Bernard, 
334. 

Vane,  Sir  George,  314. 

Vane,  Sir  Henry,  the  elder,  313,  314. 
Notice  of,  314,  315. 

Vane,  Sir  Henry,  birth  and  descent, 
313 — 315.  Education,  315.  Embraces 
the  doctrines  of  the  dissenters,  315. 
Emigrates  to  New  England,  316.  Is 
chosen  governor  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  254,  299,  316.  Espouses  the 
cause  of  Anne  Hutchinson,  288,  318. 
Is  superseded  by  Winthrop,  319.  Con- 
troversy with,  320.  Returns  to  Eng- 
land, 320.  Appointed  Treasurer  of 
the  Navy,  and  elected  to  Parliament, 
320.  Knighted  by  Charles  I.,  320.  In 
Long  Parliament,  321.     One  of  Com- 


missioners for  New  England,  125. 
Opposes  the  King,  321.  His  agency 
in  the  attainder  and  death  of  the  Earl 
of  Strafford,  322.  Attends  Assembly 
of  Divines,  323.  Arranges  League 
with  Scotland,  323.  Is  on  commis- 
sions to  treat  with  the  King,  at  Ux- 
bridge, &c,  324.  Withdraws  from 
Parliament,  and  takes  no  part  in  trial 
and  execution  of  Charles  I.,  325.  One 
of  the  Council  of  State,  325.  Plans  and 
directs  the  brilliant  naval  enterprises 
of  England,  326.  Opposes  conduct 
of  Cromwell,  and  is  imprisoned,  327. 
Again  in  Parliament,  327.  His  re- 
ported speech,  said  to  have  over- 
whelmed Richard  Cromwell, 328— 330. 
The  speech  probably  a  fiction,  330. 
Active  in  Parliament,  331.  President 
of  Council  of  State,  331.  Joins  the 
army  against  the  Parliament,  532. 
One  of  the  Council  of  Officers,  and  of 
Committee  of  Safety,  332.  Ordered  by 
Parliament  into  custody,  332.  Ex- 
cepted from  pardon  by  Charles  II., 
and  sent  to  the  Tower,  332.  Executed 
on  Tower  Hill,  333.  His  character, 
and  opinions,  different  accounts  of, 
321,  333.  His  estates  and  honors  res- 
tored to  his  family,  334.  Notice,  of 
his  descendants,  334. 

Vane,  Sir  Henry,  knight  at  Poictieurs, 
313. 

Vane,  Gilbert,  2d  Lord  Bernard,  334. 

Vane,  Howell  ap,  313. 

Vane,  Sir  Ralph,  313. 

Vane,  William  Harry,  Duke  of  Cleve- 
land, 334. 

Vassal! ,  Samuel,  240. 

Vassall,  William,  124.  Character  of, 
126,  202,  240,  262,  263.  Lord  Hol- 
land, a  descendant  of,  229. 

Veils,  adopted  for  women  in  the  church, 
352. 

Venables,  Gen.,  130. 

Ven,  John,  240. 

Vermaes,  Benjamin,  89. 

Vincent,  Sir  Francis,  315. 

Vines,  Richard,  124. 

Virginia  Company,  9,  15.  Pilgrims  ap- 
ply to,  15.  Grant  a  patent,  in  name 
ofWincob,  16. 

Virginia,  settlement  of,  9. 

w. 

Wadsworth,  William,  415. 

Waldo,  Lucy,  136. 

Waldo,  Gen.  Samuel,  136,368. 

Walley ,  Major  John,  notice  of,  214,  226. 

Wampanoags,  41.  Hostile  to  Gov.  J. 
Winslow,  184.  See  Massasoit,  Alexan- 
der, and  Philip. 


438 


INDEX. 


Wamsutta,  son  of  Massasoit.  See  Alex- 
ander. 

Ward,  Rev.  Nathaniel,  of  Agawam, 
177. 

Waranoke  Indians,  plots  of,  309. 

Warren,  James,  200. 

Warren,  Joseph,  91. 

Warren,  Mercy,  91. 

Warren,  Richard,  26. 

Warwick,  Countess  of,  378. 

Warwick,  Dudley,  Earl  of,  274. 

Warwick,  Earl  of,  9,  70, 125,  240, 

Waterhouse,,  David,  386. 

Waters,  Asa,  89. 

Watertown,  settlement  of  280,  281 , 

Watts,  Capt.  185. 

Welde,  Rev.  Thomas,  257. 

Wentworth,  Sir  Thomas,  322.  See  Earl 
of  Strafford. 

Wequash,  an  Indian,  betrays  the  Pecpjots 
303. 

Wessagussett.    See  Weymouth. 

West,  Francis,  Admiral,  76. 

West  Indies,  failure  of  Cromwell's  expe- 
dition against,  129. 

Westminster,  treaty  of,  403. 

Weston,  Thomas,  agreement  with,  16, 17. 
Notice  of,  20.     His  plantation  at  Wey- 

•  mouth,  61.  Character  of,  65,  84. 
His  people  dispersed,  66. 

Weymouth,  Capt.,  43. 

Weymouth,  settlement  of,  by  Weston's 
colony,  61,  235.  Indian  conspiracy 
against,  64.  Settlers  at,  disorderly, 
65.  Abandoned,  66.  Execution  at, 
84. 

Wheelwright,  Rev.  John,  255.  Banished, 
257.    Notice  of,  288,  291,  319. 

Whetcomb,  Simon,  239,  240. 

White,  Joanna,  199. 

White,  Rev.  John,  236,  238.  Notice  of, 
239. 

White,  Peregrine,  31,  94,  200. 

White,  Roger,  54. 

White,  Susanna,  31 ,  94. 

White,  William,  26,  31,  94. 

Whiting,  Joseph,  309. 

Wight, "Isle  of,  treaty  of,  324. 

Willett,  Francis,  166. 

Willett,  Col.  Marinus,  166. 

Willett,  Capt.  Thomas,  163.  Notice  of, 
166. 

William  HI.,  proclaimed,  393,  419. 

William  Henry,  fort,  199. 

Williams,  Roger,  asks  satisfaction  for 
the  natives  of  Pawtucket,  149.  Pro- 
poses public  discussion  of  religious 
principles,  169.  Declined  by  Gov. 
Prence,  170.  291,  292.  Letter  of,  310. 
Arrives  in  Salem,  352.  Influence  of, 
353.  Attempts  to  silence,  354.  Ban- 
ished, 354. 

Williams,  Thomas,  26.     ■ 


Wilson,  Rev.  John,  first  minister  of  Bos- 
ton, 245.  Electioneering  for  Winthrop, 
256,  284. 

Wincob,  John,  patent  in  name  of,  16. 

Windsor,  Conn.,  settled,  300. 

Winslow,  Edward,  father  of  Gov.  W., 
93,  132. 

Winslow,  Edward,  his  birth  and  educa- 
tion, 93.  Travels  on  the  continent,  93. 
Joins  Robinson's  Church,  93.  Settles 
at  Leyden.  and  marries,  93.  Removes 
nh  his  family,  26,  93. 
One  of  the  aiseoverers  of  Plymouth 
e;ith  of  his  wife  and 
31 ,  94.  His  visit  to 
95—100.  His  voy- 
•i,  68,  100.  His 
i  m'd  v  sit  to  '  [;  ssasoit  in  the  time 
of  his  sickness  64.  101 — 106.  Sent 
to  England  as  agent  for  the  Colony  of 
New  Plymouth, 106.  Publishes  "Good 
News  from  New  England,"  or  a  nar- 
rative of  the  transactions  of  the  colony, 
107.  Returns  to  Plymouth,  and  brings 
the  first  neat  cattle  brought  to  New 
England,  109.  His  second  voyage  to 
England,  109.  Detects  Lyford,  and 
returns  to  Plymouth,  87, 110.  Elected 
assistant,  87, 110.  Voyage  to  Kenne- 
beck,  111.  Narrow  escape  at,  112. 
Trades  with  the  Dutch  at  New  Neth- 
erlands, 114.  Reported  death  of,  115. 
Again  sent  as  agent  to  England,  115. 
Application  to  the  commissioners  of 
the  colonies,  116.  Questioned  by 
Archbishop  Laud  for  celebrating  mar- 
riages, 117.  His  defence,  117.  Pro- 
nounced guilty  of  separation  from  the 
Church,  117.  Committed  to  the  Fleet 
Prison,  117.  Petitions  the  board,  and 
obtains  a  release,  117.  Returns  to 
New  Plymouth,  and  chosen  governor, 
78,  118,  140.  Chosen  commissioner 
of  the  United  Colonies,  119.  Agent 
of  Massachusetts  to  England  to  answer 
the  complaint  of  Gorton,  Child  and 
others,  122.  Conducts  with  ability 
and  success,  125,  263.  His  publica- 
tions in  London,  107,  124,  127,  128. 
Engaged  in  colonizing  and  converting 
the  Indians,  128.  One  of  the  corpora- 
tion for  that  purpose,  128.  A  com- 
missioner under  Danish  treaty,  129. 
One  of  the'  commissioners  sent  by 
Cromwell  on  an  expedition  against  the 
Spaniards,  130.  Dies  on  the  passage 
to  Jamaica,  131.  Buried  with  the 
honors  of  war,  131.  His  settlement  at 
Marshfield,  131.  Notices  of  his  de- 
scendants, 131—138, 143,  175. 

Winslow,  Rev.  Edward,  notice  of,  136. 

Winslow,  Elizabeth,  94,  131. 

Winslow,  Gilbert,  26,  137. 


INDEX. 


439 


Winslow,  Gen.  Isaac,  son  of  Gov.  Josias 
W.,  notice  of,  and  of  his  descendants, 
197—199. 

Winslow,  Isaac,  135,  136. 

Winslow,  John,  brother  of  Gov.  Ed- 
ward W. ,  notice  of,  and  of  his  descen- 
dants, 132—134. 

Winslow,  Gen.  John,  son  of  Isaac  W., 
notice  of,  198,  199. 

Winslow,  Gen.  John,  notice  of,  134. 

Winslow,  Joshua,  135. 

Winslow,  Josias,  birth  and  education, 
175.  Early  in  public  employment, 
175.  Succeeds  Standish,  as  military 
chief,  176.  Commissioner  of  the 
United  Colonies,  176.  Commander  in 
chief  of  the  forces,  176.  His  toler- 
ant principles,  177,  208.  Chosen 
Governor  of  New  Plymouth,  178. 
Restores  those  who  had  been  pro- 
scribed for  their  opinions,  178.  Ar- 
rests the  sachem  Alexander,  163,  166. 
Commands   in  the  war  with  Philip, 

183,  374.     Wampanoags  seek  his  life, 

184.  Instructions  to,  from  the  com- 
missioners, 184.  In  the  great  Narra- 
gansett  fight,  186—190.  Health  im- 
paired by  the  campaign,  and  resigns, 
192.  203.  Grant  to  by  the  colonies, 
192!  Character  of,  194,  195.  Death 
of,  195.  Notices  of  his  descendants, 
196—200. 

Winslow,  Kenelm,  brother  of  Gov.  W., 

notice  of,  137. 
Winslow's  publications — "  Good  Newes 
from   New    England,"    107.     "  Rela- 
tion," &c,    108.     "  Hypocrisie  Un- 
masked," 124.      "  Briefe  Narration," 
124.      "The    Danger    of   Tolerating 
Levellers,"  124.     "Glorious  Progress 
of  the  Gospel  among  the  Indians,"  &c. 
128. 
Winslow,  Susanna,  94,  131. 
Winthrop,  Adam,    father  of  Gov.  W., 

237. 
Winthrop,  CoL  Adam,  271,  386. 
Winthrop,  Hon.  Adam,  270. 
Winthrop,  Henry,  269. 
Winthrop,  John,  his  birth  and  ancestry, 
237.  Educated  for  the  law,  237.    Lea- 
der of  the  settlement  in  Massachusetts, 
243,  278,  378.     First  governor  of  the 
colony,  242.     Farewell  address  to  his 
friends  of  the  Church  of  England,  244. 
Settlement  at  Newtown,  245.     Remo- 
val to  Boston,  247,  283.     Consulted  by 
New  Plymouth  magistrates,  83,   149. 
His  character,  247 — 250.     Left  out  of 


the  magistracy,  251.  One  of  the  coun- 
cil for  life,  287.  Examination  of  hi3 
accounts,  and  honourable  result,  252. 
Complained  of  for  too  much  lenity, 
310.  His  humility,  252.  His  firm- 
ness and  decision,  253.  His  difficul- 
ties/with Anne  Hutchinson  and  her  fol- 
lowers, 253—258,  288.  Supersed- 
ed by  Henry  Vane,  254,  289.  Elect- 
ed governor  again,  255.  Controversy 
with  Vane,  320.  Assists  at  a  synod, 
256.  His  firm  and  correct  conduct 
with  the  Church  at  Boston,  257.  His 
opinion  of  democracy,  259.  Of  mag- 
istracy and  liberty,  260,  261.  His  pe- 
cuniary embarrassments,  264.  His 
afflictions,  265.  Grants  to  his  family, 
264.  His  death,  265.  His  picture 
preserved  in  the  Senate  Chamber  of 
Massachusetts,  266.  His  History  of 
New  England,  different  editions  of, 
266.  His  Model  of  Christian  Chari- 
ty, 267.  Notices  of  his  descendants, 
268—272. 

Winthrop,   Gov.   John,  Jr.,  269,    271, 
300, 363. 

Winthrop,  Prof.  John,  271. 

Winthrop,  Samuel,  271,  272, 

Winthrop,  Col.  Stephen,  270. 

Winthrop,  Wait,  386. 

Winthrop,  William,  271. 

Wise,  Rev.  John,  412. 

Wiswall,  Rev.   Ichabod,  agent  in.  Eng- 
land for  New  Plymouth,  220,  221,  223. 

Witchcraft,  first  executions  for,  in  New 
England,  344,  345. 

Witherell,   Rev.  Mr.   anecdote   of,  196. 
Elegy  of,  on  Gov.  J.  Winslow,  196. 

Wood,  Anthony,  cited,  202,  239,  321. 

Woodbridge,  Rev.  Benjamin,  296. 

Woodbridge,  Rev.  John,  notice  of,  296. 

Worsely,  Lt.  Col.,   drives  out  House  of 
Commons,  327. 

Worship,  public,  in  the  army,  185.     En- 
forced bylaw,  209,  210. 

Woosamequen.    See  Massasoit. 

Wooster,  Gen.  134. 
Wray,  Sir  Christopher,  334. 
Wray,  Frances,  334. 
Wright,  Nathl.,  240. 
Wyllys,  George,  308. 
Wyllys,  Samuel,  312. 


Yarborough,  Lord,  313. 

Young,  Rev.  Alexander,  80,  82,  92, 

Young,  Sir  John,  238,  240. 


T.  Barnard,  Printer, 
Washington  City. 


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